The S&P 500 dropped 0.2% Monday after the U.S. and Iran paused their recent attacks against each other, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.5%. Technology and energy lagged the most among the benchmark's sectors as crude oil futures plunged nearly 7%. The Federal Reserve concludes its two-day policy meeting Wednesday.
The S&P 500 slipped back into negative territory and dropped 0.2% in recent trade Monday, even as the Dow rose after the U.S. and Iran paused their recent attacks against each other. Sectors were mixed, with technology and energy lagging the most and communication services and consumer staples the strongest areas.
Dow pares gains while software stocks shine
The Dow pared initial highs and was up 0.2%, with Salesforce out in front on a lift of more than 6%. Alphabet and Sherwin-Williams were also strong on gains of more than 2% each.
Yet the Nasdaq composite lost 0.5%, while Shopify and Workday were among the better performers on gains of more than 9% each. The SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF rallied nearly 4%, which comes after last week's dive of 4.5%.
Nvidia and oil plays skid
Nvidia was one of the worst laggards on the Dow, falling more than 5% amid a Wall Street Journal report that it is in talks to guarantee financing as OpenAI looks to lease a $500 billion data center. Caterpillar suffered a similar decline.
Energy plays sold off as well. West Texas intermediate crude oil futures plunged nearly 7%, trading around $83.35 per barrel. The SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF slid more than 2% amid the pause in U.S.-Iran hostilities.
Fed meeting concludes Wednesday
A Federal Reserve rate hike at the conclusion of the policy meeting is unlikely, but not out of the question. Odds of a quarter-point tightening have tripled over the past week to 36% as of Friday afternoon, reflecting the week's jump in crude oil prices.
Ahead of the decision, the 10-year Treasury yield was down three basis points to 4.65%. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday, after the Fed's updated policy statement.
Then the data takes over. Second-quarter GDP growth is set for Thursday, along with the June update for the Fed's primary inflation gauge, the core personal consumption expenditures price index.
Source: Investor's Business Daily
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