U.S. equity markets opened the week mixed on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining ground while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 declined. The Dow rose 0.3% to 53,422 points, the S&P 500 slipped 0.4% to 7,645 points, and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 1.3% to 28,920 points.
Negative sentiment from Asian markets and upcoming earnings from Nvidia, a bellwether for the AI chip sector, weighed on technology shares. Concerns over potential price increases due to rising costs at the AI chip leader also contributed to the decline. Geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran added to market uncertainty.
The Nasdaq 100 underperformed as chip-related stocks led declines. Nvidia fell 2.5%, Tesla dropped 2.4%, and other members of the Magnificent Seven—excluding Meta and Microsoft, which rose 0.4% each—posted modest gains. Alphabet led with a 1.1% increase. Among chip stocks, Arm Holdings, Applied Materials, AMD, Intel, and Micron each fell between 2.5% and 7.5%.
Nvidia’s upcoming earnings report on Wednesday is a key focus, with investors assessing whether the company can meet high expectations. Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid noted that Nvidia’s stock has declined following each of its last four earnings releases, as positive surprises have become less pronounced.
In corporate news, H.B. Fuller rejected a takeover bid from Ancora for its Building Adhesives unit, citing inadequacy. Nvent Electric agreed to acquire Maverick Power, a private data center equipment supplier, for $1.75 billion. Regenxbio plunged 23% after the FDA imposed a clinical hold on its experimental gene therapy for Hunter syndrome.
Investors will look to the Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole symposium, starting Thursday, for signals on the future interest rate path amid elevated oil prices and rising bond yields. Analysts at eToro suggested the tone of Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s remarks on inflation versus bond market concerns could be pivotal.
