Wall Street: S&P 500, Nasdaq rebound as chipmakers recover, investors brace for big tech earnings

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq bounced back on Monday, led by a recovery in semiconductor stocks after last week's sharp selloff, while investors turned their attention to a crucial week of quarterly earnings from some of the world's largest technology companies.

As of 10:15 a.m. Eastern Time, the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.5% higher.

At the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 8.2 points, or 0.02%, to 52,154.57. The S&P 500 rose 31.5 points, or 0.42%, to 7,489.18​, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 200.6 points, or 0.79%, to 25,720.871.

Investors are gearing up for one of the busiest weeks of the US earnings season, with quarterly results from Alphabet, Tesla, and General Motors expected to dominate market sentiment.

The closely watched reports are likely to offer fresh insights into corporate profitability, consumer demand, artificial intelligence investments, and the broader health of the US economy.

According to FactSet, companies in the S&P 500 are projected to deliver nearly 25% year-over-year earnings growth, underscoring expectations for another strong reporting season despite ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties.

"The earnings expectations are certainly higher than they were in the first quarter," said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management, adding that significantly topping estimates will be more challenging.

Meanwhile, rising geopolitical tensions have added a fresh layer of concern for investors. The national average price of gasoline in the United States climbed back above $4 per gallon, according to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), reversing earlier declines.

The increase in fuel prices follows an escalation in hostilities between the United States and Iran, raising fears of potential disruptions to global energy supplies.

Iranian President said the country is now in a "full-scale war" with the United States after Iranian state media and local officials reported that US forces carried out strikes on targets in the northern and central regions of Iran on Monday.

The renewed conflict has intensified concerns over oil supply risks in the Middle East, prompting investors to closely monitor developments for their potential impact on energy markets, inflation, and the broader global economy.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.58% from 4.55% on Friday.

Key Stock Movers

Nvidia shares surged 1.4%.

Sandisk stock climbed 3.9% after tumbling 29% last week.

Advanced Micro Devices stock jumped 3% after the firm announced an expanded partnership where Microsoft will use its products for AI.

Shares of AMC Entertainment soared 10.6% after the movie-theater operator reported stronger quarterly revenue than expected.

Domino’s Pizza added 3.1% after delivering stronger revenue for the spring than expected.

Energy Market

Crude oil prices hit one-month highs on Monday before scaling back as Iran said diplomatic exchanges with the United States were ongoing via mediators.

Brent North Sea crude fell less than 0.1% at $88.05 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate edged down 0.2% at $81.61 per barrel.

Bullion

Gold prices were steady on Monday, as investors assessed developments in the escalating US-Iran conflict.

As of 09:25 a.m. EDT (1325 GMT), spot gold was down 0.1% at $4,011.96 per ounce. US gold futures for August delivery lost 0.1% to $4,015.80.

Elsewhere, spot silver gained 1.7% to $56.87 per ounce, platinum was down 0.3% at $1,586.21, and palladium rose 1.3% to $1,264.34.