Amazon, Meta, Apple and Microsoft are set to report quarterly results this week. (Reuters pic)NEW YORK: Wall Street ended mixed on Monday, as investors awaited guidance from major technology companies in a busy week for quarterly earnings, while also worrying that stubbornly high oil prices could force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Apple are set to report quarterly results this week. Investors were questioning whether a multi-year rally fuelled by optimism about artificial intelligence may be losing steam.Investors last week were spooked by quarterly results from Tesla and Alphabet that showed heavy spending on artificial intelligence.Walmart rose 2.1%, Microsoft added 1.9% and Johnson & Johnson rose 1%, with all three helping keep the S&P 500 in positive territory.On Monday, crude fell to a one-week low as US President Donald Trump said Washington was having "good talks" with Iran and there was a chance of a peace deal, but warned US strikes would resume if the negotiations failed to deliver.
Oil prices surged last week, with Brent futures surpassing US$100 a barrel, after new strikes on shipping in the Middle East.Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by consumer staples, up 1.58%, followed by a 1.25% gain in information technology.The PHLX chip index extended its recent selloff, falling 2.2%. It is down 21% from its record high close on June 22 and remains up 63% in 2026.Chinese chipmaker CXMT Corp's stellar debut on Monday and a report that the country has started manufacturing homegrown DUV chipmaking tools also signaled intensifying competition for the US semiconductor industry."Today represents a continuation of the rotational market that we've seen," said Bill Merz, head of capital markets research and portfolio construction at US Bank Asset Management Group. "Part of the market reaction may be related to that creeping suspicion that perhaps a rate hike is coming."The S&P 500 edged up 0.02% to end the session at 7,413.18 points.The Nasdaq declined 0.18% to 24,932.08 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.51% to 52,210.08 points.Brent crude prices slid 8% to about $89 a barrel after Washington abruptly suspended a two-week campaign of air strikes against Iran on Saturday in Trump's latest strategic U-turn in the five-month-old conflict.Oil company shares declined.
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