US stocks rose on Monday morning, with chip stocks advancing ahead of Big Tech earnings this week, while oil prices eased after touching $90 a barrel amid tit-for-tat attacks between the US and Iran over the weekend.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.2%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained 0.6% to follow a volatile week that saw semiconductor stocks post losses.
The market is looking for the next catalyst for the artificial intelligence trade after a series of sector rotations in recent weeks. Wall Street has raised its expectations for quarterly results from Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Intel Corporation (INTC), IBM (IBM), and Tesla (TSLA), due later this week, as investors look for signs that companies are monetizing AI to accompany their huge investments in the AI build-out.
In the Middle East, the US-Iran war escalated again over the weekend after the US engaged in its ninth straight day of attacks and Iran retaliated by bombing US allies in the region, primarily Kuwait. The two sides remain far apart on a ceasefire agreement, even as the death toll from the conflict rises.
Oil prices reversed gains on Monday after rising on the renewed tensions, as Iran said diplomatic exchanges with the US would continue via mediators. That was seen by some as leaving scope for fresh negotiations. Meanwhile, Brent crude futures (BZ=F) remain well below their April and May peaks, suggesting energy markets may be starting to look beyond the Strait of Hormuz for alternative shipping routes for oil exports.