US close: Stocks mixed, but peace deal hopes drive late rally

(Sharecast News) - US stocks finished mixed on Monday, with elevated bond yields and nervousness about Nvidia's upcoming earnings weighing on risk appetite, though indices pared earlier losses on tentative hopes of a peace deal between Washington and Tehran.

President Donald Trump, who had warned Iran at the weekend that the "clock is ticking" to propose an adequate deal to end the war, said a planned attack on the country had been paused on Monday. Following the request of leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Trump said that "serious negotiations are now taking place".

Stock markets, while rangebound, rallied before the close to bounce off their earlier lows. The Dow gained 0.3%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, while weakness in the tech sector dragged the Nasdaq down 0.5%.

"It has been another of those odd 'stocks up, oil up' days that have become such a feature of the global financial markets since the beginning of March. After looking decidedly weak this morning, rescue arrived in the form of signs that the US and Iran were once again talking, and that, even more importantly, a small unthawing of relations was underway," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

"For two such implacable foes, the signs that they are capable of making concessions in pursuit of a deal is just what markets need to see, and investors grabbed the opportunity with both hands."

WTI crude settled 1.7% higher at $107.25 a barrel, while Brent finished at $112.10, up 2.6% on the day and its highest level in two weeks.

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached new all-time closing highs on Thursday, while the Dow neared its record set in February, before taking a sharp plunge on Friday as bond yields rose and a meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping failed to result in any major tech deals between the US and China. 10-year US Treasury yields finished flat on Monday, but held at their highest levels since January 2025.

Upcoming results from chip titan Nvidia on Wednesday gave investors another reason to sit on the sidelines, with expectations already sky high following a near-70% surge in the stock over the past 12 months, giving it a market capitalisation of $5.46trn as of Friday's close. Nvidia finished in the red for the second straight day, along with sector peers Broadcom, Intel, Micron Technology and AMD.

In other news, Dominion Energy shares jumped after NextEra Energy said it has agreed to buy the company in a $67bn all-share deal that will create the world's largest regulated electric utility business by market capitalisation.

AI tech group Cognizant rose strongly after the firm doubled its share buyback target for 2026 from $1bn to $2bn. Chief executive Ravi Kumar said the increase "reflects our strong conviction in the long-term opportunity AI creates and our critical role in it as an AI builder".

Dow Jones - Risers

3M Co. (MMM) $152.53 4.32%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $179.48 3.44%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $196.12 2.63%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $118.88 2.32%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $282.47 2.20%

Visa Inc. (V) $332.64 2.12%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $305.99 2.08%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $42.57 1.65%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $222.75 1.57%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $423.54 1.43%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $324.39 -2.82%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $863.95 -2.74%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $391.13 -0.69%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $38.56 -0.49%

American Express Co. (AXP) $312.24 -0.40%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $946.36 -0.22%

Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $0.00 0.00%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $0.00 0.00%

Boeing Co. (BA) $220.61 0.05%

S&P 500 - Risers

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $51.40 9.96%

Dominion Energy Inc. (D) $67.56 9.44%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $171.52 7.47%

Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $50.60 7.27%

Apache Corp. (APA) $40.15 6.60%

Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $106.35 6.42%

Gartner Inc. (IT) $155.43 6.29%

Corpay Inc (CPAY) $348.50 6.18%

Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) $55.92 6.15%

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $255.64 5.94%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $629.68 -11.37%

Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $681.54 -6.94%

Corning Inc. (GLW) $178.55 -6.91%

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $68.43 -6.59%

Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) $723.03 -6.10%

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $16.21 -5.15%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $413.57 -4.68%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $9.82 -4.66%

NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE) $89.04 -4.63%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $51.40 9.96%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $171.52 7.47%

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $128.88 6.20%

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $255.64 5.94%

Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $11.88 5.60%

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $70.35 5.33%

Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $12.05 5.24%

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $222.94 5.20%

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $127.28 4.81%

Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $24.34 4.78%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $629.68 -11.37%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $681.54 -6.94%

Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $49.67 -5.98%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $413.57 -4.68%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $9.82 -4.66%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $740.84 -4.16%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $409.99 -4.06%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $458.68 -3.27%

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $479.87 -3.23%