NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – Wall Street closed lower on Monday as a sharp technology selloff and surging oil prices pulled major U.S. stock indexes down. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.55% to 25,873.18, ending a three-session winning streak. The S&P 500 fell 0.79% to 7,515.34. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 138.37 points, or 0.26%, to 52,498.64. Gains among energy companies limited the Dow’s decline, while semiconductor stocks led the broader retreat.
Oil prices jumped after renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 9.4% to settle at $78.14 a barrel. Brent crude gained 9.6% and closed at $83.30. President Donald Trump announced the reinstatement of a blockade on Iranian ports. The oil surge lifted energy shares and pushed Treasury yields higher. The two-year Treasury yield finished at 4.261%, its highest closing level since early 2025.
Technology recorded the largest decline among the S&P 500’s 11 sectors. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 4.8%, reflecting widespread losses among major chipmakers. SanDisk, Marvell Technology and Intel dropped between 6.1% and 12.6%. Micron Technology and Nvidia also helped pull the Nasdaq lower. U.S.-listed shares of SK Hynix sank 9.3% after gaining more than 12% during their Friday Nasdaq debut. The Philadelphia index tracks major semiconductor companies traded in the United States.
Chipmakers lead technology retreat
Energy ranked as the strongest S&P 500 sector as crude prices posted their largest daily gains in years. The sector’s advance helped the Dow outperform the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Technology shares produced the largest percentage loss in the benchmark index. Financial stocks also moved lower before the start of second-quarter bank earnings. Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo planned to report quarterly results on Tuesday.
Selling extended beyond large technology companies during Monday’s session. Declining stocks outnumbered advancing stocks by 1.63 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange. The exchange recorded 152 new highs and 190 new lows. On Nasdaq, 3,178 stocks fell while 1,592 rose. Total U.S. exchange volume reached 15.91 billion shares, below the 20-session average of 21.83 billion. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.8% to 2,953.17.
Oil surge reshapes sector performance
Despite Monday’s decline, all four major indexes remained higher for 2026. The S&P 500 held a year-to-date gain of 9.8%. The Dow stood 9.2% above its year-end level, while the Nasdaq remained up 11.3%. The Russell 2000 had gained 19% during the year. Monday’s move left the S&P 500 below Friday’s close of 7,575.39. The Nasdaq also retreated from Friday’s 26,281.61 finish, while the Dow moved below 52,637.01.
The decline came before a busy U.S. economic and corporate calendar. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh planned to deliver his first semiannual testimony before Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Labor Department scheduled consumer and producer price reports during the week. The Commerce Department also planned to release June retail sales data. Markets had priced in at least one quarter-point interest rate increase by year-end. Monday’s close combined steep semiconductor losses with a sharp rise in global energy prices.