MARKET SNAPSHOT

U.S. stocks fell, led by the Dow, while renewed fighting in the Strait of Hormuz sent Brent crude futures back above $90 a barrel. Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year hitting its highest level since January 2025. The dollar weakened. Gold and silver declined.

MARKET WRAPS EQUITIES

U.S. stocks fell as renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran near the Strait of Hormuz caused oil prices and long-term Treasury yields to rise.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%. The S&P 500 lost 0.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.1%.

Asian equities were mixed earlier Monday.

In China, the Shanghai Compsite Index rose 0.9%, the Shenzhen Composite gained 0.6%, and the ChiNext Price Index ended 0.4% higher.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.1%.

In Japan, the Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.1%, dragged lower by machinery stocks.

South Korea's Kospi rose 0.5%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index fell 0.2%, while New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index added 1.1%.

COMMODITIES

Oil futures rose after the U.S. struck Iranian rocket launchers which it said were preparing to mine the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran responded firing missiles at U.S. targets in Jordan.

The skirmishes "tend to be non-escalatory and the gains tend to be limited," Samer Hasn of XS.com said in a note. Oil prices "may remain stuck in their broad sideways path until elections in Israel and the United States are concluded," he said. Meanwhile there are no signs of a near-term return to negotiations or intentions by either side to make concessions, "keeping escalation risks present."

WTI settled up 2.8% at $85.76 a barrel for a 1.3% monthly gain. Front month Brent rose 1.3% to $90.49 for a 0.4% gain in August.

Gold futures posted back-to-back losses as a renewal of military action in the Persian Gulf followed what were seen as hawkish comments on Friday by Fed Chairman Kevin Walsh.

"The metal could remain exposed to the geopolitical developments in the Middle East, where a rebound in oil prices could fuel inflation concerns again," Critical Metals CEO Tony Page said in a note. "Any softness in incoming inflation and labor data could ease the pressure, while firmer figures or more hawkish Fed comments may extend the decline."

Front month gold settled down 1% in New York at $4,431.10 a troy ounce, while ending the month up 9.4%. Silver fell 1.2% to $66.221 a troy ounce, for a 15% monthly gain.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Fighting Flares in Middle East After U.S. Strike on Iranian Rocket Launchers

WASHINGTON-U.S. forces attacked two Iranian rocket launchers in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, the U.S. Central Command said, marking the first American strike in weeks and heightening the risk of a return to all-out conflict in a region already battered by war.

The command said that the Iranian launchers, which were deployed on Larak Island, were preparing to fire rockets filled with sea mines into the strait when they were struck.

"Last week, Centcom completed clearing sea mines from the strait's international shipping routes," said Capt. Tim Hawkins, the spokesman for the command. "We simply will not allow Iran to emplace more mines."

Bessent now says debt-reduction plan could be months away. It will face hurdles when it arrives.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent promised skittish bond investors earlier this month that the White House would roll out a new plan for tackling the federal government's persistent deficit within days.

Now, he says a tax and spending package might not actually be ready for months.

"I said Russ Vought and I are working on a fiscal consolidation package that we'll be talking about more in the coming weeks or months," Bessent said Monday in an interview on CNBC, on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers.

Trump to meet with oil execs about cutting gas prices, as his Venezuelan SPR plan faces skepticism

President Donald Trump is slated to meet Tuesday with executives from oil companies at the White House, and their discussion will focus in large part on reducing gasoline prices, the White House said Monday.

The meeting looks like it's part of an ongoing effort by Trump administration officials and other Republican policymakers to address voters' concerns about affordability ahead of this year's midterm elections, which are now two months away.

Trump is huddling with executives from oil refiners to "discuss options on lower gasoline prices," said Chris Krueger, an analyst and managing director at TD Cowen's Washington Research Group, in a note. That's as several recent Trump announcements and some House of Representatives hearings this week "signal a shift in the GOP affordability message aimed at voters" in November, Krueger added.

FTC Files Lawsuit Alleging Amazon Deceived Advertisers

WASHINGTON-The Federal Trade Commission on Monday filed a lawsuit against Amazon.com alleging that the e-commerce giant manipulated prices businesses paid to advertise on its retail platform, reaping tens of billions of dollars for itself over seven years.

The lawsuit, joined by a bipartisan group of more than 20 state attorneys general, alleged that Amazon deceived advertisers by secretly raising the minimum price advertisers had to pay to place ads promoting their products.

The case, filed in a Seattle federal court, becomes the consumer-protection agency's third major case against Amazon, which agreed to pay $2.5 billion last year to settle an earlier suit alleging it tricked people into signing up for its Prime service and made it hard to cancel the subscription. Another lawsuit alleging that Amazon engaged in illegal monopolization is headed for trial next year.

GameStop Sees Higher Profit as eBay Investment Offsets Lower Sales

GameStop expects second-quarter profit to climb, boosted by investment gains from its stake in eBay, but said sales likely fell from a year earlier.

The videogame retailer on Monday said it anticipates net income of $290 million to $310 million for its 13 weeks ended Aug. 1, up from net income of $168.6 million in last year's comparable quarter.

The forecast includes about $238 million of net gains related to its eBay derivative asset and equity investment, partially offset by a loss of roughly $75 million on digital assets and related receivables, the company said.

SLB to Buy Data Center Cooling Firm Kelvion for $4.1 Billion

SLB agreed to acquire thermal management company Kelvion from private-equity funds for $4.1 billion.

The oil drilling and production company said Monday that the acquisition is meant to strengthen its growing data center business.

"This transaction accelerates our ambition to become an industrial technology partner to the data center industry and help customers address the growing infrastructure complexity required to scale AI," SLB Chief Executive Olivier Le Peuch said.

Expected Major Events for Tuesday 00:00/SKA: Aug Trade data

00:30/JPN: Aug Japan Manufacturing PMI

00:30/SKA: Aug South Korea Manufacturing PMI

00:30/TAI: Aug Taiwan Manufacturing PMI

00:30/THA: Aug Thailand Manufacturing PMI

00:30/INA: Aug Indonesia Manufacturing PMI

00:30/PHI: Aug Philippines Manufacturing PMI

00:30/MAL: Aug Malaysia Manufacturing PMI

01:30/AUS: Jul Building Approvals

01:30/AUS: 2Q International Investment Position

01:30/AUS: 2Q Balance of Payments

01:45/CHN: Aug China Manufacturing PMI

04:00/INA: Jul Trade Balance

04:00/INA: Aug CPI

05:00/JPN: Aug Consumer Confidence Survey

05:00/JPN: Aug Auto sales

06:30/AUS: Aug Commodity Price Index

08:00/TAI: Aug CIER PMI

22:45/NZ: Jul Building Consents Issued

23:00/SKA: Aug CPI

23:00/AUS: Aug Australian PMI

23:00/AUS: Aug Australian PCI

23:50/JPN: Aug Monetary Base

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