US STOCKS-Nasdaq, S&P 500 edge lower as tech stocks drop; focus on Mideast conflict

Southwest Airlines

27/07/2026 17:50

Indexes: Dow up 0.38%, S&P 500 off 0.03%, Nasdaq slips 0.21%
Investors await earnings from 'Mag 7' companies; chips slide
Airlines and cruise operators edge higher as oil declines
Fed decision due on Wednesday
Updates throughout
By Johann M Cherian and Ragini Mathur
July 27 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were mixed on Monday as investors remained wary of volatility in the Middle East despite a U.S.-Iran de-escalation, while awaiting guidance from major technology companies in what could prove to be a "make-or-break" week.
Four of Wall Street's "Magnificent Seven" companies Microsoft MSFT.O, Amazon AMZN.O, Meta META.O and Apple AAPL.O are set to report earnings later in the week, which will determine if the years-long AI rally has further room to run. 
Microsoft added 2.3%, Apple and Meta were up about 1%, while Amazon was flat.
"This is a make-or-break week for technology," said Christian Fromhertz, CEO at The Tribeca Trade Group.
"I'm more worried about this week than anything else because if Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon don't start telling investors when they're going to be making money on all of this CapEx, then there's a problem."
U.S. stocks ended a rough week on Friday after negative cash-flow reports from Alphabet GOOGL.O and Tesla TSLA.O added to concerns about debt-fueled corporate spending. 
Chinese chipmaker CXMT Corp's 688825.SS stellar debut on Monday and a report that the country has started manufacturing homegrown DUV chipmaking tools also signaled intensifying competition for the U.S. semiconductor industry.
Tech stocks .SPLRCT declined the most on the S&P 500, slipping 1.4%, with chip stocks leading the slide. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index dropped 4% and was about 22% below its June record high. Sandisk SNDK.O tanked 11%, Nvidia NVDA.O dropped 4.4% and Micron MU.O lost 4.7%.
On the flipside, communication services .SPLRCL rose 2.3% as Alphabet GOOGL.O rebounded 3%. 
At 12:42 p.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 197.41 points, or 0.38%, to 52,144.66, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 1.86 points, or 0.03%, to 7,410.12 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC shed 50.91 points, or 0.20%, to 24,924.91.  
     
MIDEAST TRUCE SHAKY
Brent crude prices LCOc1 slid 7.4% to $89.63 a barrel on relief that the recent spike in tensions between Iran and the U.S. was temporarily on hold. 
However, the ceasefire was fragile as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained low and Iran's neighbors continued to face fresh drone attacks, prompting a warning from President Donald Trump that he is ready for "strong military action" if talks fail, a report said. 
A wide swathe of stocks sensitive to energy prices gained. United Airlines UAL.O and Delta Air Lines DAL.N edged up about 1% each, as did cruise operators Royal Caribbean RCL.N and Carnival CCL.N.
Oil companies Occidental Petroleum OXY.N and Exxon Mobil XOM.N were down about 2% and 1.2%, respectively. 
The Fed's monetary policy decision is due on Wednesday and investors expect rates to be left unchanged, but are pricing in at least 25 basis points of increase later this year, LSEG-compiled data showed. 
The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index for June is due a day after the central bank's decision and will be key in shaping market expectations for interest rates later this year. 
Software stocks .SPLRCIS, which had been hit several times earlier this year on AI-disruption worries, gained 2.8% with Workday WDAY.O up 8.9%. 
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.66-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.63-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. 

 (Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Joyjeet Das)
 ((johann.mcherian@thomsonreuters.com))