New York stocks swung sharply, led by technology shares, as expectations of an end to hostilities between the United States and Iran mixed with fears of fresh conflict.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 50,872.11 on Monday, up 86.10 points, or 0.17%, from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 19.08 points, or 0.26%, to 7,386.65, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 250.84 points, or 0.97%, to 25,678.82.
Among the largest technology stocks by market capitalization, Nvidia fell 0.22%, Apple dropped 3.64%, Microsoft slid 2.02%, Amazon declined 0.42%, Broadcom fell 1.12%, Tesla dropped 3.00%, Meta edged down 0.14%, and Micron fell 1.41%. Alphabet, Google's parent company, rose 0.26% even amid the broader decline.
New York stocks opened higher across the board earlier in the session, buoyed by expectations of a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran. Speaking to reporters at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, US President Donald Trump said, "We are in the final stage of reaching a very good agreement," adding that it would take "about two or three days." US Energy Secretary Chris Wright also assessed that "the number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz has increased very significantly recently."
The technology stocks then reversed lower as tensions in the Middle East escalated. The mood shifted after Israel again launched airstrikes on southern Lebanon and Iran shot down a US Apache helicopter. Trump announced on his social networking service Truth Social, "I have just received a report that a state-of-the-art Apache helicopter patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz on the night of the 8th was shot down by Iran," adding that "the helicopter had two pilots on board, and both are safe." Trump went on to warn of retaliation, saying, "The United States will inevitably have to respond to this attack."
As of the previous day, Trump had not clearly identified the cause of the incident in response to a New York Times (NYT) report that a US Army Apache helicopter had crashed near the Strait of Hormuz. With the investigation now revealing it to be the work of Iran, the likelihood of a renewed military clash between the two countries during negotiations has risen. The market took it as a sign that the ceasefire, which has lasted more than two months since April 7, was being put to the test. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which had risen nearly 2% early in the session, also closed down 1.93%.
Among individual stocks, pharmaceutical company Nuvalent surged 39.56% on news of a $10.6 billion acquisition by British drugmaker GSK. Security firm SailPoint plunged 11.48% after projecting annual adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.30 to $0.34, barely meeting the market estimate of $0.32.
The US trade deficit for April fell 1.2% from March on increased crude oil exports. The US Commerce Department said the April trade deficit was $55.9 billion, down $700 million, or 1.2%, from the previous month. That was smaller than the expert forecast of $56.1 billion. Exports rose $8.3 billion, or 2.6%, to $327.1 billion, while imports increased $7.6 billion, or 2.0%, to $383.0 billion. In particular, crude oil exports rose $6.4 billion due to the Iran war, leading the overall increase in exports. Exports of fuel oil and other petroleum products also rose $1.3 billion and $1 billion, respectively. Among imports, capital goods imports increased $7 billion amid the boom in artificial intelligence (AI) data center investment.
International oil prices fell sharply, focusing more on the easing of Middle East tensions. Recent moves by Kuwait to offer additional crude oil supplies to major refiners in Asia, along with a sharp drop in demand from China, the world's largest crude oil importer, added to the downward pressure on prices. On the ICE Futures exchange in London, Brent crude for August delivery closed at $91.45 a barrel, down 2.97% from the previous session. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for July delivery fell 3.40% to $88.20 a barrel. Both Brent and WTI posted their biggest declines since the 27th of last month.
