Photo: Arild Vagen / Wikimedia Commons (archive photo)

Oil crashed 7% Monday on renewed hopes for U.S.-Iran diplomacy, splitting the tape in two: the Dow rose and eight of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors gained, but the Nasdaq fell for a third straight session as Intel sank below $60 and the chip rout deepened, hours before Apple and Palantir reported after the close.

The numbers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 213.67 points, or 0.41%, to 51,983.98, snapping a two-day losing streak. The S&P 500 fell 38.67 points, or 0.51%, to 7,541.40, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 272.68 points, or 1.07%, to 25,164.32 – both down a third straight day. The Russell 2000 slipped 5.96 points, or 0.21%, to 2,805.88. The VIX jumped 8.9% to 21.15. Nasdaq composite volume was about 8.0 billion shares, down from Friday’s heavy 9.1 billion.

Source: NYSE, Nasdaq and NYMEX/COMEX closing data

Sectors: the rotation. Money left technology and energy and went almost everywhere else. Consumer discretionary led, up 2.41%, followed by financials at +1.86%, materials +1.76%, consumer staples +1.58%, industrials +1.38%, real estate +1.09%, utilities +0.55% and communication services +0.36%. The two losers that matter: energy, down 3.96% on the oil collapse, and technology, down 2.95% as the chip selloff rolled on. Health care eased 0.15%. Eight winners against three losers – but technology’s decline weighed heavily on the index.

The movers. Intel tumbled another 8.8% to $59.97, closing below $60 and stretching its loss over two sessions to about 35%, following Friday’s 28.6% crash on a weak holiday-quarter outlook. Microsoft fell 2.8%, Nvidia 1.3%, Meta 1.3% and Alphabet 0.3%. Apple slipped 1.8% to $338.32 ahead of its after-close report. On the winning side: Amazon rebounded 2.2% after Thursday’s post-earnings selloff, Berkshire Hathaway rose 2.5% ahead of its earnings report, and JPMorgan added 1.1% as financial stocks rose. The oil crash hit the majors – Exxon Mobil fell 4.1% and Chevron 3.3% – while Coinbase dropped 4.0% as crypto sagged.

Source: Yahoo Finance daily closing prices

Oil’s collapse. U.S. crude settled at $96.46 a barrel, down 7.4% from Friday’s $104.12 settlement, after trading as much as 8% lower intraday, as traders priced the possibility that diplomacy between Washington and Tehran could defuse the conflict premium that drove oil above $100 last week. Gasoline futures sank with crude; lower crude prices could eventually ease pressure at the pump, though retail gasoline prices do not adjust immediately.

Gold, bonds, the dollar and bitcoin. Gold rebounded, settling at $3,969.60 an ounce, up $70.70, or 1.8%, from Friday’s $3,898.90 settlement after Friday’s 3.5% dump. The 10-year Treasury yield eased about 2 basis points to roughly 4.91%. The dollar index slipped 0.1% to 101.79. Bitcoin traded near $76,800, down from about $77,200 at Friday’s close.

After the close. Apple posted a record September quarter – revenue up 12% to $114.5 billion and earnings of $2.10 a share, both ahead of estimates, with iPhone sales up 17% – in John Ternus’s first report as CEO; management then forecast holiday-quarter revenue growth of 7% to 10%, below the 11.4% growth analysts polled by LSEG expected. Palantir nearly doubled revenue again, up 96% to $2.31 billion, beating estimates and raising its full-year outlook as U.S. commercial sales passed government sales for the first time. Both reports land as the market’s first big test this week of whether it will pay for AI growth or keep punishing its cost.

What to watch. The midterm elections Tuesday, Berkshire Hathaway’s results later this week, and the October jobs report Friday.

JBizNews Desk | Wall Street
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