Stocks opened lower Monday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared over the weekend that the Strait of Hormuz “will be closed until further notice,” pushing oil sharply higher and reigniting fears the U.S.-Iran conflict could disrupt the waterway that carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s seaborne oil. The statement followed fresh U.S. strikes near the strait, confirmed by U.S. Central Command, and Iranian counterstrikes targeting U.S. allies including Kuwait, Jordan, and Qatar. President Trump said the ceasefire he had brokered was “over” while insisting negotiations to end the war were continuing, setting up a dangerous standoff over one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes.

By late morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 198 points, or 0.4%, near 52,438. The S&P 500 slipped roughly 0.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the retreat, falling more than 1% as chipmakers and AI-related stocks absorbed the heaviest selling pressure.

The decline erased part of last week’s gains. On Friday, the S&P 500 closed at 7,575 and the Nasdaq finished at 26,281, while the Russell 2000 lagged, ending the week down 0.4% near 2,979.

Market Movers

The day’s biggest corporate story was SK Hynix’s Nasdaq debut. Shares initially surged as much as 13% after the South Korean memory-chip giant completed a $26.5 billion offering, the largest U.S. equity sale ever by a foreign company, before reversing sharply lower in volatile trading.

The company told investors it expects tight memory supplies to keep prices elevated through 2030, driven by continued demand for DRAM and high-bandwidth memory used in artificial intelligence systems.

U.S. rival Micron Technology fell about 3.9%. Overnight in Asia, SK Hynix’s decline rippled across regional markets, helping push South Korea’s Kospi down roughly 9% and triggering a market-wide trading halt as investors questioned whether AI-related valuations had climbed too far, too fast.

Big Tech provided little support.

Meta Platforms slipped after confirming plans to invest $50 billion in its Hyperion data center in Louisiana, another major commitment to AI infrastructure that investors increasingly want justified through future earnings.

Tesla traded near $408, leaving the electric-vehicle maker valued for years of anticipated earnings growth.

One bright spot came from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which reported second-quarter revenue of $39.63 billion, up 36% from a year earlier and above company guidance, reinforcing expectations that demand for AI chips remains exceptionally strong.

Elsewhere, Circle Internet Group jumped roughly 15% after receiving federal banking approval, while reports said AI developer Anthropic selected Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to lead its planned initial public offering.

Analyst Calls

Wall Street research desks were active throughout the session.

Jefferies upgraded BeOne Medicines to Buy from Hold, raising its price target to $380 from $333. The firm also upgraded Deckers Outdoor to Buy with a $130 target and Shopify to Buy with a $160 target.

Truist Financial upgraded Biogen to Buy, citing upcoming clinical data, while HSBC raised Capital One to Buy with a $229 target.

Wells Fargo upgraded Humana to Overweight, more than doubling its target price to $502, and initiated coverage of Atmos Energy at Overweight with a $200 target.

Not all research was positive.

Citigroup downgraded ResMed to Neutral from Buy.

Bank of America cut Papa John’s International to Underperform.

Loop Capital lowered Best Buy to Hold, while RBC Capital Markets downgraded Kymera Therapeutics and initiated coverage of Costco Wholesale at Sector Perform with a $1,000 price target.

Commodities, Rates and Volatility

Oil remained the market’s biggest driver.

West Texas Intermediate crude climbed nearly 5%, while Brent crude advanced toward $80 a barrel after the Hormuz threat—a move that, if sustained, would feed directly into gasoline, diesel, freight, manufacturing, and shipping costs worldwide.

Gold unexpectedly declined about 1.2% to roughly $4,064 an ounce, extending its recent retreat after posting its weakest quarter since 2013.

Silver traded near $60 an ounce.

Bitcoin slipped about 1.7% to approximately $62,900.

U.S. Treasury yields moved modestly higher as rising energy prices fueled renewed inflation concerns and reduced expectations for near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) hovered around 15, remaining relatively subdued by historical standards while edging higher as investors monitored developments in the Middle East.

The Week Ahead

Markets now turn to one of the busiest weeks of the quarter.

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is scheduled to make his first appearance before Congress on Tuesday, the same day the June Consumer Price Index is released. The Producer Price Index follows Wednesday, while retail sales arrive Thursday.

Together, the reports could reshape expectations for interest rates during the second half of the year as policymakers weigh inflation pressures intensified by rising energy prices.

Corporate earnings also move into full swing with reports from JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America, followed later in the week by Johnson & Johnson, UnitedHealth, Netflix, and Taiwan Semiconductor.

Analysts continue to forecast a second consecutive quarter of earnings growth exceeding 20%, a key pillar supporting U.S. equities despite mounting geopolitical uncertainty.

For all the earnings reports and inflation data ahead, Wall Street’s direction this week may ultimately hinge on a question no balance sheet can answer:

Will oil continue flowing freely through the Strait of Hormuz—or is this the beginning of a broader disruption that reshapes the global economy?

JBizNews Desk | New York
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