New York stocks fell across the board as semiconductor-related shares tumbled, with investors treating Samsung Electronics' (005930.KS) record earnings as a negative. International oil prices surged around 3% on news that a ship was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.
On the New York Stock Exchange Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 52,925.15, down 130.76 points, or 0.25%, from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 33.58 points, or 0.45%, to 7,503.85, while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 25,818.69, down 302.47 points, or 1.16%.
Among the top technology stocks by market capitalization, Apple fell 0.64%, along with declines in SpaceX (-6.83%), Broadcom (-0.83%), and Tesla (-4.02%). Nvidia (0.71%), Microsoft (0.54%), Amazon (0.75%), Google parent Alphabet (0.16%), and Facebook parent Meta (2.55%) rose despite the falling market.
In particular, semiconductor-related stocks led the New York market lower Monday, including Micron (-4.71%), AMD (-6.51%), ASML (-4.26%), Intel (-9.66%), Applied Materials (-6.46%), and Lam Research (-6.87%). The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also fell 4.65%.
The weakness in US semiconductor stocks is interpreted as a reaction to Samsung Electronics' earnings from the previous day. It means that even though Samsung Electronics reported record-high preliminary second-quarter results, they fell short of investors' extremely elevated expectations. Samsung Electronics said it posted consolidated revenue of 171 trillion won and operating profit of 89.4 trillion won in the second quarter this year. On this news, foreign investors also unloaded profit-taking sales in the Korean market, pushing Samsung Electronics and the KOSPI index down 6.92% and 4.91%, respectively.
Along with this, news that a ship near the Strait of Hormuz was attacked also fueled the market's weakness. US online outlet Axios reported that Iranian forces fired at least two missiles Monday at a commercial vessel passing through the strait. According to US sources, both ships sustained significant damage, but there were no casualties. According to the Qatari government and the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a total of three vessels near the Strait of Hormuz have been attacked since the previous day, including one Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier and two oil tankers. The US withdrew its sanctions waiver on Iranian crude oil over the attack. It came about 20 days after the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on ending hostilities.
International oil prices surged on news of the ship attack in the Strait of Hormuz. On the ICE Futures exchange in London on Monday, Brent crude futures for September delivery recorded $74.16 per barrel, up 3.01% from the previous session. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for August delivery also jumped 2.76% to close at $70.44 per barrel. Both Brent and WTI marked their largest gains since the first of last month.
