By Ragini Mathur and Utkarsh Hathi
May 11 (Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes paused on Monday, after last week’s record-setting rally, as renewed worries over stalled U.S.-Iran talks weighed on risk appetite.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s swift rejection of Iran’s response to a U.S. peace proposal stoked worries that the 10-week-old conflict could drag on and keep shipping through the Strait of Hormuz paralyzed. That sent crude prices up almost 3%. [O/R]
Still, elevated oil prices have done little in recent weeks to derail the broader market’s momentum. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both closed at record highs on Friday, buoyed by upbeat corporate earnings, optimism for semiconductor companies, and a solid monthly payrolls report signaling resilience in the U.S. economy.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq touched fresh record highs again on Monday, extending gains from the previous session.
That resilience could soon be tested as the earnings season winds down and investors turn their focus to Tuesday’s consumer price index data, which is expected to show inflation ticked higher in April as the Middle East conflict puts upward pressure on energy prices.
Producer prices and monthly retail sales figures are also due later in the week.
“The worry list is long, but the economy keeps proving the bears wrong,” said Robert Edwards, chief investment officer, Edwards Asset Management
“Big tech has regained its leadership, backed by solid and growing revenue and earnings. These names sit at the center of every major secular theme.”
At 10:08 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.54 points, or 0.01%, to 49,605.62, the S&P 500 gained 11.38 points, or 0.15%, to 7,410.31 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 10.19 points, or 0.04%, to 26,257.27.
Eight of the eleven main S&P 500 sectors were in the green, with the S&P 500 energy leading the gains with a 1.5% rise.
The S&P 500 materials sector rose 1.3%, tracking gains in precious metal prices.
Also on the radar is a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week, when the two leaders are set to discuss Iran, Taiwan, artificial intelligence and nuclear weapons, while also weighing an extension of a critical minerals deal.
The earnings season will soon start winding down after an upbeat performance from companies, led by the technology sector.
Major names due to report this week include tech networking giant Cisco and semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials, while heavyweights Nvidia and Walmart are due to report later in the month.
On Monday, Intel rose 3.5% after surging 14% on Friday on a report of a preliminary chip-making agreement with Apple, while peer Qualcomm surged 8.6% to a record high.
Mosaic fell 2.1% after the fertiliser maker withdrew its forecast for annual phosphate production.
Media major Fox Corp rose 4% after beating Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue.
Among other movers, some airline stocks slipped as rising oil prices threatened to squeeze margins. Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Alaska Air and United Airlines fell between 1.8% and 2%.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.05-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.01-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 27 new 52-week highs and 30 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 115 new highs and 91 new lows.
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur and Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
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