Stocks on Wall Street drifted to a mixed close Monday as oil prices fell after the U.S. and Iran paused their attacks while work resumed on restarting negotiations to end the war.The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1% after spending much of the day bouncing between small gains and losses. The benchmark index was coming off two weekly losses in a row.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2%, its fourth straight loss.The three major stock indexes are on pace to close out this month in the red. It would be the second straight monthly loss for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.Oil prices reversed course from a week ago, when a sharp escalation in fighting between the U.S. and Iran worsened worries about global oil supplies.
The price of Brent crude, the international standard, dropped 6.3% to settle at $85.87 a barrel for October delivery. Prices surged to over $100 a barrel last week before easing.U.S. crude oil for September delivery fell 7.5% to settle at $82.61 a barrel.The war between the U.S.
and Iran has sharply curtailed, and at a times halted, traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz. That has had a ripple effect throughout the world’s economy. Gasoline prices have surged and shipping costs for most goods are rising, with businesses typically passing those costs along to households.Markets closed higher in Europe and Asia.Bond yields fell.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.65% from 4.69% late Friday.Technology companies were behind much of the shifts in the market, with gains and declines for a mix of big companies resulting in uncertain trading.Nvidia fell 5% and Micron Technology slumped 2.3%. At the same time, Microsoft rose 1.9% and Apple rose 1.2%. They are all among the most valuable companies in the world, and those huge valuations give them more influence over the direction of the broader market.The mix of gains and losses from a variety of those companies had more impact in pushing and pulling the market, even as the majority of companies in the S&P 500 gained ground.Communications company stocks were among the gainers Monday.
Google parent Alphabet rose 2.1%, while Charter Communications jumped 6.7% and Comcast rose 2.3%.Credit card issuers and payment processors also notched gains. American Express climbed 2.8%, Capital One Financial added 2.1%, Visa rose 1.9% and rival Mastercard gained 2.2%.In Asia, Chinese… Stocks are drifting on Wall Street and oil prices fell after the US and Iran paused their attacks while work resumed on restarting negotiations to end the war.
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