WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After turning in a strong performance last week, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Monday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing modestly higher.
The Dow rose 95.31 points or 0.2 percent to 49,704.47, the Nasdaq inched up 27.05 points or 0.1 percent to 26,274.13 and the S&P 500 edged up 13.91 points or 0.2 percent to 7,412.84.
Despite the lackluster performance on the day, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended the session at new record closing highs.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent strength.
While traders generally remain optimistic about the future for the markets, uncertainty about the conflict in the Middle East continues to weigh on their minds.
Traders also continued to keep an eye on the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures jumping by more than 2 percent on the day.
Crude oil futures surged after President Donald Trump rejected Iran's response to a U.S. proposal to end the months-long war, calling it 'totally unacceptable' in a post on Truth Social.
According to state media, Iran's counterproposal included demands for compensation over war damage and recognition of the Islamic Republic's sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump later told reporters the U.S.-Iran ceasefire is on 'life support' amid the ongoing dispute, describing the state of the truce 'unbelievably weak.'
However, U.S. markets have recently been able to shrug off concerns about the impact of the Middle East conflict amid upbeat earnings news.
Reports on consumer price and producer prices may attract attention in the coming days, as traders analyze the effect the recent spike in oil prices has had on inflation.
Traders are also likely to keep an eye on reports on retail sales and industrial production as well as earnings news from the likes of Under Armour (UAA) and Cisco (CSCO).
Sector News
Gold stocks moved sharply higher amid a modest increase by the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index spiking by 3.7 percent.
The surge by the price of crude oil also contributed to significant strength among oil producer stocks, as reflected by the 2.6 percent jump by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.
Semiconductor, oil service and networking stocks also saw considerable strength, while airline stocks moved sharply lower, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 3.1 percent.
Retail, housing and banking stocks also saw notable weakness, offsetting the strength seen in the aforementioned sectors.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.5 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.1 percent and South Kore's Kospi surged 4.3 percent.
The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index crept up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries moved to the downside, extending the see-saw movement seen over the past few sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 4.6 basis points to 4.410 percent.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
