Wall Street Live: S&P 500, Dow Jones, Nasdaq rise amid US airstrikes on Iran, oil prices seesaw, Tesla rallies 9%

Wall Street stock indices rose  on Monday amid escalating Middle East conflict as Iran vowed retaliation to the US airstrikes on its nuclear facilities over the weekend.

Investors fear a broader conflict in the Middle East as Tehran warned that the US attack had expanded the scope of its military action.

The stock benchmarks gained after dovish comments from Federal Reserve's Vice Chair Michelle Bowman.

She said the time to cut interest rates could be fast approaching.

At 11:56 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 30.71 points, or 0.09%, to 42,243.19, the S&P 500 gained 16.72 points, or 0.28%, to 5,984.56, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 77.57 points, or 0.40%, to 19,524.98.

At 10:42 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 95.63 points, or 0.23%, to 42,302.45, the S&P 500 gained 28.89 points, or 0.48%, to 5,996.73, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 109.12 points, or 0.56%, to 19,556.61.

As of 10 AM Eastern time, the S&P 500 was 0.4% higher, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.3% higher.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 28.3 points, or 0.07%, to 42178.55. The S&P 500 rose 1.8 points, or 0.03%, to 5969.67​, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 20.4 points, or 0.10%, to 19427.007.

At 07:43 AM ET, Dow E-minis were down 98 points, or 0.23%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 10.25 points, or 0.17%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 45.75 points, or 0.21%.

On the economic data front, investors were awaiting core PCE and final GDP numbers due later this week. Spotlight will also be on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's two-day semiannual testimony before the US Congress.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.34% from 4.38% late on Friday. The 2-year Treasury yield fell more modestly to 3.89% from 3.90%.

Crude Oil

Oil prices wobbled on Monday amid concerns around Iran shutting the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil supply route.

In the early session, international benchmark crude contract Brent and US equivalent WTI both climbed over 4%.

Later, they dipped briefly into the red and then wobbled, rising 0.3%.

US Secretary of State Marco-cables-conductors-share-price-nse-bse-S0005556">Marco Rubio told Fox News on Sunday that a disruption to traffic through the strait by Iran would be “economic suicide” and would elicit a US response. 

Oil prices wobbled and stock markets wavered Monday as traders awaited Tehran's response to US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.

US and European stocks retreated while Asian equities were mixed, with markets keeping a close eye on whether Iran will block the crucial Strait of Hormuz, which carries one-fifth of global oil output.

When trading opened on Monday, international benchmark crude contract Brent and US equivalent WTI both jumped more than four percent to hit their highest price since January.

Bullion

Gold prices edged higher on Monday as Iran-Israel tensions escalated.

Spot gold was up 0.1% at $3,369.80 an ounce, as of 1211 GMT. US gold futures were flat at $3,385.90.

Spot silver rose 0.3% to $36.12, platinum rose 2.1% at $1,292.03, while palladium gained 2.7% to $1,072.42.

Gainers and Losers

Shares of Elon Musk's electric vehicle maker Tesla surged 9.5%. The company on Sunday began test run of self-driving cabs in Austin, Texas.

Eli Lilly stock gained 1.3%, while rival drugmaker Novo Nordisk lost 5.4%.

Northern Trust soared 8.6% after a Wall Street Journal report said Bank of New York Mellon approached the asset and wealth manager for a potential merger.