NEW YORK: The S&P 500 and the Dow inched lower on Monday as US-Iran tensions dented sentiment, while some technology stocks rose after the report of a strong revenue forecast from AI lab Anthropic.
Tehran will escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider region if diplomacy with the United States fails, a senior Iranian official told Reuters, pointing to an Iranian policy shift relying on offense rather than defense.
Brent crude futures gained about 0.3 percent, with the S&P 500 energy index 0.2 percent higher.
“(Investors) were telling themselves wars always come to an end. I don’t think anyone was pricing in the fact that this could still be going as we approach the end of the summer,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported on Friday that Anthropic, which is preparing for its IPO, forecast 2028 revenue of roughly USD190 billion to USD200 billion, according to two people familiar with the company’s financials.
Chipmakers led gains among technology stocks. Western Digital and Sandisk rose 6.3 percent and 10 percent, respectively, making them the top performers on the benchmark index.
Tech shares on the S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent, limiting losses elsewhere and boosting the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Markets will keep a close eye next week on results from chipmaker Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, for signs the tech-driven momentum can last. Nvidia’s shares rose 1 percent.
Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said greater clarity on AI investments and the source of returns was allaying immediate fears of a “potential AI boom then bust”.
At 11:32 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 198.47 points, or 0.37 percent, to 53,533.94, the S&P 500 lost 10.51 points, or 0.13 percent, to 7,775.25, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 32.38 points, or 0.12 percent, to 26,761.55.
Declines in Microsoft and Sherwin-Williams weighed on the Dow.
Concerns over the payoff from AI investments battered chip stocks recently, but robust quarterly results and forecasts signaling resilient demand have helped push the Nasdaq to within 1.5 percent of its all-time high.
The S&P 500 closed at a record peak on Thursday after a batch of soft inflation data helped traders dial back the odds of an interest-rate hike by the US Federal Reserve at its September meeting.
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