US stock markets opened with gains on Monday evening, Beijing time. A rise in shares of chipmakers provided a lift to the market. Crude oil prices fluctuated amid the latest round of military exchanges between the US and Iran.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 136.59 points, or 0.26%, to 52,283.01. The Nasdaq Composite gained 207.69 points, or 0.81%, reaching 25,727.93. The S&P 500 index advanced by 37.11 points, or 0.50%, to 7,494.80.
Investor sentiment improved after the US conducted its ninth consecutive overnight strike against Iran. Following midnight Eastern Time on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Bagheri offered hope for a diplomatic resolution.
Bagheri told reporters that intermediaries continued to exchange messages with Iran during the latest US strikes, suggesting that negotiations between the two adversaries could proceed based on national interests.
Crude oil prices gave back earlier increases. US crude futures were last down 1.9% at $80.96 per barrel. Brent crude also retreated from overnight levels, trading around $87.03 per barrel, a decline of 1.2%.
Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge wrote, "Investors still believe Trump lacks the appetite for a substantial escalation of the US military posture in the Middle East, such as deploying ground troops. If that holds true, then some form of diplomatic resolution is inevitable."
Chipmakers provided buying support for US equities as they attempted to recoup some of last week's steep losses.
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) rose more than 2%. Micron Technology led the gains, climbing over 5%. Astera Labs, Teradyne, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) also each advanced more than 3%.
All three major US stock indexes closed lower last week, with pressure on chip stocks weighing on market sentiment. The S&P 500 fell 1.6%, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.9%, and the 30-stock Dow declined 0.9%. Furthermore, the SMH ETF recorded its third weekly drop in four weeks, declining nearly 9%.
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