Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Pulls Back From Records As Oil Jumps 6% On Hormuz Tensions

Wall Street eased back from last week’s record-breaking rally on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each sliding around 0.5% as a weekend of renewed U.S.-Iran tensions sent oil surging more than 6% and rekindled anxiety over the fragile Middle East ceasefire.

The U.S. Navy seized the Iranian cargo ship TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman over the weekend, and President Donald Trump signalled that it’s “highly unlikely” he’ll extend the ceasefire with Iran, which ends tomorrow.

• TopBuild stock is surging to new heights today. What’s behind BLD gains?

The West Texas Intermediate light crude rallied 6% to $88.91 per barrel, rebounding from Friday’s 12.8% slump on peace hopes.

Across U.S. equity markets by midday Monday, losses were concentrated in megacap tech while small caps bucked the trend. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 7,096, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%, or about 114 points, to 49,333.

The Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.6% to 26,507. Within Magnificent Seven stocks, Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) slid 2.3% and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) fell 2% ahead of its earnings this week.

The Russell 2000 extended its outperformance, rising 0.3% to 2,786.

Treasuries were quiet despite the geopolitical flare-up. The 10-year Treasury yield hovered around 4.25%, little changed and close to one-month lows.

Monday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices

According to the Benzinga Pro platform:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) fell 0.4%.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) slid 0.2%.
• The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) dropped 0.6%.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) rose 0.3%.

Homebuilders and Oil Drillers Lead As Tech and Airlines Slide

At the sector level, the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLB) led the tape with a 0.8% gain, followed closely by the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE), which rose 0.7% on crude’s rebound.

The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) was the worst performer, down 0.9%, weighed by Tesla and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), while the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) dropped 0.054%, and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) slipped 0.5%.

At the industry level, the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (BATS:ITB) jumped 1.4% — the day’s top mover — followed by the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSE:XOP), which added 0.9%, buoyed by the oil rally.

On the losing side, the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) slid 1.6% alongside weaker bullion, the U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSE:JETS) fell 1.5% as higher jet fuel prices pressured carriers, and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) dropped 0.5%.

Airlines and cruise operators — which had strongly rallied last Friday — were hit by the oil spike. 

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) fell 4.7%, while Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) slid 4.6% and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) traded lower.

Chip names were mixed: Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) dropped 3.7% ahead of its earnings report this week, and Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) shed 2.8%, while Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) slipped 3.6%, deepening the sell-off after last week’s negative performance following earnings.

In notable corporate movers, TopBuild Corp. (NYSE:BLD) was the top Russell 1000 gainer, surging more than 17% after QXO Inc. (NYSE:QXO) announced late Sunday it will acquire the insulation and building products installer in a $17 billion cash-and-stock deal valued at $505 per share — a 23% premium to Friday’s close. The flipside hit the acquirer: QXO slid roughly 6% on the dilution and integration risk, landing as one of the session’s biggest Russell 1000 losers.

Elsewhere, Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) added 7.2%, extending a blistering rally that has pushed the stock up roughly fourfold in weeks as TSA staffing disruptions at U.S. airports continue to funnel travelers into rental cars.

Monday’s Russell 1000 Top Gainers

Monday’s Russell 1000 Top Losers

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