FX.co ★ US Stocks Hold Slight Increase

US stocks were mostly higher on Monday as investors continued to assess the uncertain fallout from the war involving Iran. The S&P 500 and Dow posted modest gains, while the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5% amid a session of tech-led strength.

Reports indicated that US allies were pushing for a last-minute agreement with Iran as part of a possible longer ceasefire, but the risk of further escalation remained elevated. Tehran’s retaliatory rhetoric, combined with President Trump’s threat of aggressive military action beginning tomorrow, kept geopolitical tensions high.

The conflict continued to disrupt crude and refined product supplies, with European spot crude prices having climbed to their highest levels since 2008 last week. Credit costs moved higher as the pro-inflationary backdrop was reinforced by Friday’s strong jobs report and a sharp rise in manufacturing and services input costs captured in the ISM surveys, heightening the risk of a more hawkish Federal Reserve response.

In corporate news, Netflix gained nearly 2% following an upgrade from Goldman Sachs, while AMD climbed almost 3%, recovering from last week’s losses in the broader compute sector.