The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite indices opened in the red on Monday as the conflict in the Middle East grew turbulent again.
S&P 500 opened 0.13% lower at 7,116.71, while Nasdaq slipped 0.23% at open to trade at 24,411.49. The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained little changed at 49,424.02.
Uncertainties over the next course of the US-Iran war continued as there was no clarity on whether the two sides would meet for peace talks with a ceasefire set to expire in the coming days.
Tensions soared during the weekend as the US Navy fired and boarded an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, the first seizure in the American blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Turbulence on the war front sent jitters through the energy market and oil prices rose once again. As of 9:45 a.m. EST, global benchmark Brent Crude was up 3.50% at $93.54 per barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate jumped 4.15% to $86.02 a barrel.
After the market opened, most of the sectoral indices traded in the red. Decline was led by Consumer Discretionary and Communication Services sector, while Energy and Financial sectors led the gains.
As of 10 a.m. EST, S&P 500 traded 0.07% lower at 7,121.20, Nasdaq was weighed down by losses in big tech and traded almost 0.2% lower at 24,427.13 levels, whil Dow was flat at 49,448.01.
In equities, most of the magnificent seven stocks traded lower, with Meta Platforms Inc. down over 2% at $672.88, Nvidia Corp. trading 1% lower at $199.7, Amazon.com Inc. down 1.3% at $247.34, Tesla Inc. trading 1.32% lower at $395.03, Google-parent Alphabet Inc. down 0.8% to $339.20, and Microsoft trading 0.7% lower at $419.78.
Out of the mag seven, only Apple Inc.'s share price traded 1.25% higher at $273.64.
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Most major global currencies remained little changed, including the US dollar spot index. The euro was little changed at $1.1772, British pound was little changed at $1.3523, and the Japanese yen was little changed at 158.67 per dollar.
Bitcoin, the largest traded cryptocurrency, rose 0.5% to $75,029.13.
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