US stocks turned lower on Monday as US-Iran tensions resurfaced, lifting oil prices, and Treasury yields jumped to start an economic data-packed week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) declined by 0.7%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell by 0.5%.
Markets were on edge after President Trump rejected Tehran’s proposal, which was similar to a previous memorandum of understanding, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war. With officials back at the negotiating table, Trump told Axios that talks would resume this week. Brent crude (BZ=F), the international benchmark, rose to $98 per barrel.
On Monday, Nvidia (NVDA) released two new open-sourced tools, OpenShell and Nvidia Sentry, to help control rogue AI agents. The stock also jumped after the AI chip leader announced a whopping $150 billion share buyback authorization.
Chip stocks and other tech names faced downward pressure after OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) disclosed that one of its agentic AI models escaped its container and accessed the internet. That incident served as the latest in a string of AI breaches that have prompted some top AI leaders, including Anthropic (ANTH.PVT) CEO Dario Amodei, to call for slowing the pace of AI development. It comes as Anthropic and OpenAI are reportedly targeting public market debuts in the next 12 months.
Meanwhile, a packed week of inflation and labor market data awaits investors. From the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report on Wednesday to the monthly employment report on Friday, investors will field new insights on the health of the economy.
Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) and Vail Resorts (MTN) report quarterly results on Monday, with Micron (MU) and Nike (NKE) results highlighting the earnings calendar later in the week.
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Trending tickers in early trading: Nvidia, MongoDB, Kodiak Sciences, SpaceX
Stocks are starting the week on the back foot. Here’s a look at some of the top stock ticker pages Yahoo Finance users are searching this morning:
US stocks open lower as oil, Treasury yields inch higher
The US stock market opened lower on Monday as firmer oil prices and higher yields renewed pressure on risk assets and AI enthusiasm appeared intact.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell by 0.7% while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) declined by 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively.
Oil prices climbed overnight after President Trump denied an Iranian proposal that would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz for several days. Brent crude futures (BZ=F) climbed above $100 per barrel earlier Monday before easing back below the closely watched threshold.
Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) and 30-year bond (^TYX) ticked higher earlier Monday.
Investors are also sending chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) stock higher after the company launched an AI safety platform and initiated the largest-ever stock buyback program, valued at $150 billion. Meanwhile, shares of software provider Snowflake (SNOW) fell following the company’s announcement of a $3.5 billion convertible debt offering.
Elon Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX have a huge week on tap
Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi reports:
A huge week is on tap for the “Muskverse.” That much was made clear in an X post from former Tesla (TSLA) employee Mark Anthony, as seen below.
Within the next five days, Elon Musk will orchestrate a pivotal launch for SpaceX’s (SPCX) Starship, unveil the new Tesla Roadster, and post third quarter deliveries for the EV brand.
While it’s hard to ignore the allure of a SpaceX rocket defying technological odds, it’s likely a more important week for Tesla shareholders.
The stock is down nearly 18% on the year, and continues to be one of the laggards from the resurgent “Magnificent Seven” complex.
Nvidia launches AI safety platform after Jensen Huang calls Anthropic, OpenAI warnings ‘odd’
Yahoo Finance’s Michael Kelley reports:
Nvidia (NVDA) released the Open Agent Safety Platform, which is aimed at helping AI developers to enforce safeguards on agents, a few days after the AI hardware giant’s CEO questioned the security approaches of Anthropic and OpenAI.
“AI’s extraordinary potential for society will only be realized if we solve AI safety,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated in a press release. “As we continue to discover the frontier of AI capabilities, we must accelerate discovery at the frontier of AI safety. Safety and security require full-stack engineering.”
Last week, Huang sat down with Ezra Klein of The New York Times to discuss recent warnings from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggesting that the pace of AI development could threaten humanity.
“If your product is not ready to ship, don’t ship the product,” Huang told The Ezra Klein Show podcast. “This is the first time that I’ve heard a company or C.E.O. say that I need… the liability laws of products to be relieved so that I can pace myself.”
Oil rises as Iran says it won’t soften Strait of Hormuz demands
Oil rose after President Trump rejected a seven-day ceasefire proposed by Iran, suggesting that the two sides remain far apart on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil supply to flow freely again through the critical waterway.
Bloomberg reports:
Tehran’s conditions are something Washington might have agreed to about a year ago, Trump told Axios in an interview on Sunday, saying that Iran has overplayed its hand. The US president said he expects negotiations to resume this week, Axios said.
Oil prices swung last week on mixed signals over diplomacy, recovering Middle East flows and uncertainty over US measures to curb record diesel prices, which Trump said Washington is looking at “very seriously.” Brent is up more than 70% this year, and on track for its third monthly gain, as the US-Iran conflict enters its eight month, adding to inflationary pressures.
Traders will continue to monitor physical flows through Hormuz, which carried about a fifth of the world’s crude and liquefied natural gas before the start of the conflict. Trump said a “record amount” of oil was taken out of the strait on Saturday night, while the Fars news agency reported Iranian forces targeted ships using unauthorized routes through the waterway.
Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today. AI breaches add to safety fears as Trump meets Anthropic chief
Bloomberg reports:
Global anxiety over artificial intelligence risks has intensified following fresh disclosures about a far wider range of breaches by advanced AI models, setting the stage for a high-stakes meeting between Anthropic PBC Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei and President Donald Trump.
Amodei and Trump were planning to meet Sunday night for dinner, according to people familiar with the matter, bringing together two men at opposite ends of the AI safety debate. The meeting would mark their first private sit-down after months of rocky relations between the Anthropic chief and the administration over safety-related issues involving the company’s AI tools.
Trump said Sunday he planned to discuss Amodei’s recent calls for slowing down the development pace of new AI models. “We’re going to talk about it,” he told a reporter on the sidelines of a golf tournament near Chicago. “I’m for, ‘Let’s go and let’s win.'”