Wall Street slipped Monday as market skepticism grew over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. [Reuters]
Wall Street slipped Monday as market skepticism grew over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. [Reuters]

All three major Wall Street indexes closed slightly lower Monday as market skepticism over a Strait of Hormuz reopening deepened, with the United States claiming negotiations are underway while Iran repeatedly denied it.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 60.95 points, or 0.11 percent, to close at 53,975.98. The S&P 500 slipped 4.53 points, or 0.06 percent, to finish at 7,753.11. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 85.26 points, or 0.32 percent, to end at 26,605.36.

Fading optimism over a Strait of Hormuz reopening and a rebound in crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment. CNBC reported that Iran said a deal with Oman on reopening the strait was imminent but continued to reject direct negotiations with the United States, citing unmet conditions. Skepticism is growing over whether the US and Iran can resolve the dispute in the near term, the network added.

Against that backdrop, front-month futures for Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate each rebounded about 5 percent from the previous session's close.

The S&P 500 had closed at an all-time high on Aug. 7 but failed to extend that momentum. Tom Hainlin, investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management, said the Iran conflict "keeps pulling risk appetite up and then back down." He added that "the path back to pre-conflict conditions is far from clear, so a premium continues to be priced in" to oil.

Meanwhile, Intel announced a $15 billion share offering — its first since listing — to fund AI semiconductor investment. The news sent Intel shares tumbling 4.06 percent on the day, dragging on the broader indexes.

Reports also emerged that Nvidia is in talks with major Wall Street firms — including BlackRock, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR — to raise $500 billion for AI infrastructure investment. Nvidia shares fell 2.86 percent on the day.

Market data firm LSEG said about 85 percent of the 436 S&P 500 companies that have reported second-quarter earnings so far have beaten market expectations.


kate01@heraldcorp.com