Major Wall Street indexes closed lower on Monday as investors monitored geopolitical developments in the Middle East and prepared for quarterly earnings reports from prominent technology firms. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 307.16 points, the S&P 500 fell 14.41 points, and the Nasdaq Composite saw a marginal decline of 12.17 points. Trading volume remained below recent averages, with 15.5 billion shares exchanged compared to the 20-session average of 19.94 billion.
Market activity was influenced by reports of a proposed 10-day ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, potentially reviving an interim agreement. Meanwhile, Houthi forces in Yemen announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, raising concerns regarding global energy supplies. Analysts noted that market participants are looking for signs of de-escalation that could stabilize oil and gasoline prices.
Investor attention is also focused on the second-quarter earnings season, which will feature reports from Alphabet, Tesla, and Intel later this week. While individual stocks like Apple declined by 2%, others saw gains; Domino's Pizza rose 2.1% following a revenue report that exceeded expectations, and Global Payments Inc. increased 5.8% after a rating upgrade by Morgan Stanley.
The technology and semiconductor sectors showed mixed results. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index ended the day with a 0.6% gain, recovering slightly from recent losses. Alphabet shares rose 1.5% following reports that its Google unit is developing a new server chip for artificial intelligence, while Microsoft also contributed positively to the S&P 500 index.