Stocks rose on Monday as oil prices fluctuated in response to the latest bout of military exchanges between the U.S. and Iran. Chipmakers also traded higher to give U.S. equity markets a boost.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded 0.9% higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 221 points, or 0.4%.
The U.S. completed its ninth consecutive day of strikes on Iran overnight, but investor sentiment improved by midmorning in London after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei lifted hopes for a diplomatic settlement.
Baghaei told reporters that intermediaries had continued to exchange messages with Iran amid the latest round of U.S. strikes, and said negotiations between the two adversaries could be pursued based on national interests.
That said, U.S. crude futures were last little changed at around $82 per barrel, reversing an earlier gain. International benchmark Brent also eased from levels seen overnight, trading up marginally at nearly $88.
“Investors still don’t think Trump has the tolerance for a material escalation of the US force posture in the Middle East (i.e. deploying troops) and if that’s the case, then some type of a diplomatic resolution is inevitable,” wrote Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge.
Giving U.S. stocks a bid were chipmakers, as they tried to recover some of their steep losses from last week.
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) gained more than 2%. Micron Technology led the advance, climbing around 5%. Astera Labs also gained 5%, while Teradyne rose more than 6%. Advanced Micro Devices rose more than 4%.
The three leading U.S. indexes closed in the red last week, as pressure on chip stocks weighed on sentiment. The SMH saw its third weekly decline in four weeks.
Houthis in Yemen announce maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia
Houthi militants in Yemen on Monday declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia effective immediately, threatening to exacerbate the oil supply disruption triggered by Iran’s attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis have repeatedly threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait during the U.S.-Iran war. The strait is a chokepoint for commercial ship traffic that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and global markets.
The militants, in a statement carried by state news, accused the Saudis of laying an “aggressive siege” against them. Tensions escalated last week after they claimed that Riyadh had bombed Sanaa International Airport. Read more.
— Spencer Kimball
Stocks open higher to start the new trading week
The three major averages rose on Monday morning.
The S&P 500 gained 0.5% just after 9:30 a.m. ET, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 134 points, or 0.3%.
— Sean Conlon
AMD launches Helios, its first rack AI system to rival Nvidia
Microsoft announced Monday it will deploy AMD Helios racks in its Azure data centers, joining other early customers Meta, OpenAI and Oracle.
Helios is AMD’s first rack-scale system for AI and its most competitive move against Nvidia yet. It will ship later this year.
— Katie Tarasov
Imax shares up 4% on the back of big debut of ‘The Odyssey’
Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” raked in $264.1 million in global box office sales, topping the pace of the filmmaker’s blockbuster “Oppenheimer.”
The hype around the movie being filmed entirely in the Imax 70 mm format, pushed many moviegoers to see the film at Imax screens. The demand was so strong, many theaters added screenings in the middle of the night, and sold those out.
The result was Imax seeing its highest global weekend ticket sales ever. The company said it tallied $52 million at the box office, or 20% of the film’s global debut.
Shares were up more than 4% in premarket trading on the strong results.
— Christina Cheddar Berk
Urban Outfitters gets upgrade from Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs upgrades to buy shares from retailer Urban Outfitters with a 12-month price target of $93, implying upside of more than 27% from last week’s close.
“Following several years of weak comp and profitability trends, the UO brand inflected positively in FY26 and is now showing signs of profit improvement,” the analysts wrote.
The analysts cited markdown recapture and sales leverage to drive the stronger performance. They expect the retail brand will reach its successful historical levels by fiscal year 2027.
The retail company also owns Anthropologie, and investors noted there is risk buying shares from Urban Outfitters because of Anthropologie’s inconsistent sales year-to-date.
Still, Goldman Sachs is hopeful Anthropologie is ” stabilizing, particularly among younger consumers where purchase intent has improved meaningfully.” It acknowledged competition from other retail brands is a risk and could hurt Anthropologie’s performance.
— Ananya Chetia
Bernstein lifts Robinhood target to $160 as HOOD and Kalshi evolve into frenemies
Bernstein raised its price target on Robinhood to $160 from $130, saying investors are overlooking a broader shift that could transform the trading platform beyond stocks and crypto.
“It would be natural to expect a small market reversal as World Cup ends, however, the market may be missing a generational platform shift in trading markets,” analyst Gautam Chhugani wrote in his note.
Over the next two years, Chhugani expects broker/dealers (HOOD), national exchanges (ICE, CME), prediction platforms (Kalshi/Polymarket) and crypto native platforms (Hyperliquid/Binance/Coinbase) to compete for more than $70 billion in fees across fast-growing markets such as prediction markets, tokenized stocks and perpetual futures.
Robinhood’s prediction markets revenue business is expected to grow rapidly, reaching $1.7 billion in revenue by 2028, driven by its Rothera exchange, according to the note.
While Robinhood continues to offer Kalshi’s event contracts to customers, it is increasingly steering users toward its own platform. HOOD still distributes Kalshi’s contracts to its customers, while in parallel offers event contracts from its own Rothera exchange. Meanwhile, Kalshi is pushing into new financial markets beyond predictions, according to the note.
“HOOD and Kalshi are evolving into a ‘frenemy’ relationship,” says Chuggani.
— Deena Zaidi
Domino’s Pizza rises as U.S. sales tick higher
Domino’s Pizza shares were up more than 6% after the pizza chain reported a surprise increase in U.S. sales. Comparable store sales in the U.S. increased by 0.1% in Q2. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a decline of 0.3%.
CEO Russell Weiner also highlighted strong order count growth for the company. “Domino’s generated order count growth across both our delivery and carryout businesses, bringing millions of new customers to our brand. These new customers strengthen our long-term growth flywheel by engaging with our loyalty program, while their orders power our supply chain business, fuel store growth, and drive market share,” he said in a statement.
— Fred Imbert
UK to get a new prime minister as Trump slams Britain as ‘Poverty Stricken Disaster’
Andy Burnham is set to become the U.K.’s seventh prime minister in a decade on Monday, with investors and market watchers already questioning his policy agenda.
King Charles will formally ask Burnham to form a government at Buckingham Palace this morning ahead of his official appointment as prime minister.
After that, he is expected to make his first speech as premier and set out his vision for the country.
U.S. President Donald Trump has welcomed Burnham’s plan to fast-track oil and gas exploration in already-licensed fields in the North Sea.
— Mike Sheen
Here’s the latest ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street
- U.S. stock futures rose in choppy premarket trading as Wall Street comes off a losing week.
- Gasoline prices in the U.S. climbed back above $4 a gallon on Monday as renewed hostilities in the Middle East once again weighed on oil prices.
- Andy Burnham is set to become Britain’s seventh prime minister in just over a decade when he is sworn in on Monday.
- South Korea’s Kospi fell 4.5% on Monday as heavyweights Samsung and SK Hynix tumbled.
— Joseph Wilkins
U.S. Treasury yields edge higher as Wall Street monitors Middle East tensions
U.S. Treasury yields edged higher on Monday as Wall Street monitors the latest developments amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note — the key benchmark for U.S. government borrowing — rose over 1 basis point to 4.558%.
The 2-year Treasury note yield, which more closely tracks short-term Federal Reserve interest rate policy, was broadly flat at 4.181%. The longer-dated 30-year Treasury bond yield rose over 1 basis point to 5.078%.
One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.
— Joseph Wilkins
Mainland China’s CSI 300 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng close higher
Mainland China’s CSI 300 closed 1.5% higher at 4,598.32. Zhongji Innolight surged as much as 8%, before ending the day 2.5% higher, after receiving approval for a major Hong Kong listing in what is likely to be one of the city’s biggest in years.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 2.1% in the last hour of trade on Monday. Alibaba shares rose 3.7% Monday following the preview launch of its flagship Qwen 3.8 Max model on Sunday.
— Justina Lee
Ryanair stock slides 6% as higher fuel costs amid Iran war dent profit
Ryanair warned on Monday that struggling European airlines are facing a “difficult winter” ahead, as the budget carrier reported first-quarter profit that took a 34% hit due to consumers delaying bookings amid the Middle East crisis
The airline saw its profit after tax in the April to June quarter fall to 538 million euros ($615.3 million), down from 820 million euros the previous year.
Ryanair said 20% of its unhedged fuel was exposed to price spikes, while ticket fares declined 6%. Operating costs also rose 11% to 3.81 billion euros as the price of its 20% unhedged fuel more than doubled in the quarter.
Shares fell 5.6% shortly after the market open.
— Sawdah Bhaimiya
Andy Burnham set to become Britain’s fifth PM in four years
Andy Burnham takes over from Keir Starmer as U.K. prime minister on Monday, becoming the country’s fifth leader in just four years. Attention now turns to his cabinet appointments, including the all-important choice for finance minister.
European stock markets open in the red
The pan-European Stoxx 600 started Monday’s session down 0.22%, with most regional sectors and major bourses in negative territory shortly after the opening bell.
Oil and gas stocks led the way, rising 1.48%, with technology up 0.52% in early dealmaking. Media names added 0.15%, as all other sectors hit reverse.
France’s CAC 40 fell 0.11%, Germany’s DAX slipped 0.16%, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 lost 0.3%. Italy’s FTSE MIB was hovering just below the flatline.
— Hugh Leask
South Korea’s Kospi falls 4.5%, as heavyweights Samsung and SK Hynix slide
South Korea’s Kospi ended Monday’s session 4.5% lower at 6,516.27, while the small Kosdaq index declined 5.3% to 749.64.
Earlier in the day, the sharp decline in the Kospi prompted the Korea Exchange to activate a sell-side sidecar on the index, temporarily halting program trading.
Index heavyweights Samsung and SK Hynix dropped 4.3% and 4.2%, respectively on an extended chip out.
Hyundai Motor fell 6.1%, following local reports last week that the automakers union was extending a partial strike starting.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ended flat at 8,791.30.
Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.
— Justina Lee
European stock markets set to start the new trading week mixed
European stocks are expected to begin the new trading week in mixed territory, as investors monitor the latest tensions in the Middle East.
Futures tied to the Stoxx 50 were set to open Monday’s session just above the flatline.
France’s CAC 40 was flat prior to the market open, German DAX futures were down 0.12%, and Italy’s FTSE MIB was down 0.08%.
The U.K. is also in focus, with Andy Burnham set to become the country’s new prime minister later Monday. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was seen opening 0.15% lower.
— Hugh Leask
Alibaba sees shares jump over 5% after unveiling Qwen 3.8
Alibaba shares rose 5.15% Monday following the preview launch of its flagship Qwen 3.8 Max model on Sunday.
The Chinese tech giant described the new model, which features 2.4 trillion parameters, as matching top-tier frontier AI systems and ranking second only to Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5, adding that a preview is now available through its Token Plan, Qoder, and QoderWork platforms.
Alibaba’s announcement follows the launch of Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 just days earlier, with the Chinese startup claiming its new 2.8-trillion-parameter system beats U.S. models such as Claude 4.8 Opus and GPT-5.5.
— Jenny Lee
Treasury yields edge up as Iran-U.S. tensions rise
Treasury yields were higher Monday, as renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend raised geopolitical concerns, while investors continued to digest recent data releases.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose 1 basis point to 4.585%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note, which impacted by expectations of near-term Fed interest rate, was also up 1 basis point at 4.183%.
— Justina Lee
Zhongji Innolight shares rise nearly 4% following Hong Kong listing approval
Shares of China’s Zhongji Innolight surged as much as 8% Monday before paring some gains, after the company received approval for a major Hong Kong listing worth up to $8 billion on Friday, in what is likely to be one of the city’s biggest in years.
The Chinese optical transceivers firm has started to gauge interest from investors, and details such as size and timing may change while deliberations are ongoing, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Zhongji Innolight shares were last trading 3.7% higher.
— Justina Lee
Brent breaches $90 as U.S-Iran tensions escalate
Oil prices rose Monday as continued conflict between the United States and Iran has heightened concerns over disruptions to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, following another round of U.S. strikes and American military casualties.
International benchmark Brent crude for September delivery rose about 2.77% to top $90 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery climbed roughly 2.4% to $84.49.
The latest escalation comes after the U.S. military confirmed a third American service member had been killed in recent operations, while investigators recovered unidentified remains near the site of an Iranian attack in Jordan that had previously left two U.S. personnel dead and another missing.
— Lee Ying Shan
Hyundai Motor’s shares fall over 6% as workers to reportedly extend partial strikes this week
Shares of Hyundai Motor fell 6.6%, following local reports last week that the automakers union was extending a partial strike starting Monday.
The union spokesperson said Thursday that from July 20 to 22, members will stage four-hour strikes during their respective shifts, Yonhap reported. This is the union’s second round of walkouts this year.
The union reportedly said that workers will hold partial strikes as part of efforts to secure higher wages, raising concerns over production disruptions at the company.
The workers had staged a similar strike last week.
— Justina Lee
Korea Exchange activates Kospi sell-side sidecar, halting trading briefly, as stocks tank
The Korea Exchange activated a sell-side sidecar on the Kospi, temporarily halting program trading, has South Korean stocks plunged.
A sell-side sidecar is triggered when the Kospi 200 futures index falls 5% or more for at least one minute, stopping trading for 5 minutes.
— Justina Lee
Mainland China’s CSI 300 is flat, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rises
Mainland China’s CSI 300 opened flat, as the government kept benchmark lending rates unchanged for a 14th consecutive month in July.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.52% at open, supported by advances in healthcare and energy stocks.
— Justina Lee
South Korea’s Kospi opens lower, Aussie benchmark gains
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed early Monday, amid concerns over escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The Kospi dropped 0.74% at open, while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 1.66%.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was 0.34% higher.
Japanese markets are closed for a holiday.
— Justina Lee
Asia-Pacific markets set to for subdued open as Mideast conflict dents sentiment
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open subdued on Monday, as the U.S. continued to strike Iran for a ninth consecutive day.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were last at 24,602, compared with the index’s Friday close of 24,562.24. In Australia, futures last traded at 8,814, while the S&P/ASX 200′s closed at 8,796.70.
Japanese markets are closed for a holiday.
Tensions in the Middle East stay high, after the U.S. military reported that during a recent fighting with Iran, a third American service member was killed in action. That brings the U.S. death toll to 17 since the conflict began in February.
— Justina Lee
