The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.3% on Monday morning as US stocks rose, giving Wall Street a firmer start to the week even as investors weighed fresh Middle East risk and the next test for Big Tech. The S&P 500 added 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite popped almost 0.8%.
The move matters because chip stocks advanced ahead of Big Tech earnings this week, and the market is looking for the next catalyst for the AI trade after recent sector rotations. Investors in US equities are trying to decide whether Monday’s tone is the start of a broader move higher or just a pause before earnings reshape the picture.
Wall Street has raised its expectations for quarterly results from Alphabet, Intel Corporation, IBM and Tesla, all due later this week. For traders watching Djia Today, those reports are the nearest check on whether the latest optimism around AI and technology can keep pulling the market forward.
Oil was moving the other way. Brent crude futures eased on Monday after touching $90 a barrel, even after the US-Iran war escalated again over the weekend, when 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, though Iran said diplomatic exchanges with the US would continue via mediators.
That split screen is what is driving the market right now: stocks were climbing while oil backed off, and Brent crude futures remain well below their April and May peaks. Energy markets may also be starting to look beyond the Strait of Hormuz for alternative shipping routes for oil exports, a sign that traders are already adjusting to the risk rather than waiting for it to pass.
The question now is whether the Dow can hold its gains once the earnings numbers arrive. If Alphabet, Intel Corporation, IBM and Tesla do not deliver the kind of results investors have been leaning toward, Monday’s early strength may prove to be only the opening move.
