U.S. stocks slipped on Monday as renewed geopolitical friction between the United States and Iran rattled investor confidence and sent crude oil prices sharply higher. Just days after Friday’s relief rally — fueled by optimism that the Strait of Hormuz was reopening to commercial traffic — the situation reversed over the weekend when the U.S. Navy fired on and seized an Iranian cargo vessel. Iran has vowed to retaliate, injecting fresh uncertainty into an already fragile energy backdrop and snapping the Nasdaq Composite’s historic 13-session winning streak.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 4.87 points, or 0.01%, to close at 49,442.56. The S&P 500 (SPI:SP500) shed 16.92 points, or 0.24%, finishing at 7,109.14. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 64.09 points, or 0.26%, to 24,404.39. While the losses were modest in percentage terms, they marked a clear reversal in sentiment from last week’s broad-based advance. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped roughly 6% to around $89 per barrel, while Brent crude climbed about 5% to approximately $95 — underscoring how quickly the geopolitical risk premium can reassert itself in the energy market.
Notable Movers
Compass Pathways (CMPS) was the day’s standout performer, rocketing 42% after President Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to fast-track the approval process for psychedelic drugs used to treat mental illness. The move reignited enthusiasm for the small but growing psychedelic therapeutics sector.
TopBuild (BLD) surged 19% after agreeing to be acquired by QXO in a deal valued at roughly $17 billion, making it one of the largest building-products transactions in recent memory. Elsewhere in the deal space, Eli Lilly announced it would acquire cancer-therapy developer Kelonia Therapeutics for up to $7 billion, and Honeywell said it would divest its barcode and scanning business to Brady for $1.4 billion.
In the technology sector, Marvell Technology (MRVL) rose 5.6% on reports of a deepening artificial-intelligence chip collaboration with Google, while Arm Holdings (ARM) gained 5% after Morgan Stanley published a bullish note highlighting the growing role of CPU architectures in AI workloads. On the downside, Meta Platforms (META) fell 2.6%, Tesla (TSLA) declined 2%, and AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) dropped 5.3% after its BlueBird 7 satellite failed to reach its planned orbit.
Looking Ahead
All eyes remain on the Strait of Hormuz and whether the weekend’s confrontation escalates further or gives way to renewed diplomacy. The ceasefire agreement reached last week is set to expire in the coming days, and any disruption to the roughly 20% of global oil supply that transits the strait could push crude prices — and market volatility — considerably higher. On the corporate front, first-quarter earnings season is gathering momentum, with FactSet projecting 12.5% year-over-year profit growth for the S&P 500, which would mark the sixth straight quarter of double-digit earnings expansion. Jersey Mike’s also filed confidentially for an IPO, adding to what could be an active week for new listings. Investors would be wise to keep a close eye on both geopolitical developments and the steady flow of quarterly results for direction.