U.S. stocks slide as Middle East conflict escalates

Alsharq Tribune-Al Otaify 

U.S. stocks ended lower on Monday, as investors exercised caution ahead of a critical slate of mega-cap technology earnings and braced for a renewed flare-up in Middle East hostilities.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 307.16 points, or 0.59 percent, to 51,839.26. The benchmark S&P 500 sank 14.41 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 7,443.28, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index shed 12.17 points, or 0.05 percent, to settle at 25,508.07.

Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors finished the session in the red. Healthcare and materials led the laggards, losing 1.15 percent and 0.94 percent, respectively. On the advancing side, communication services and energy served as primary market backstops, rising 0.74 percent and 0.55 percent, respectively.

Geopolitical risks resurfaced over the weekend following a major escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict. Tensions heightened after the United States engaged in its ninth consecutive day of military strikes, while Iran launched retaliatory bombardments against U.S.-allied installations in the region.

The escalation pushed energy markets higher on Monday. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery gained 74 cents, or 0.9 percent, to settle at 83.23 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Concurrently, Brent crude for September delivery increased by 1.12 dollars, or 1.27 percent, to close at 89.22 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

In corporate developments, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance fell 3.76 percent and 2.06 percent, respectively, after a federal judge issued a temporary injunction blocking Paramount Skydance's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery following an antitrust lawsuit brought by a coalition of state attorneys general.

Conversely, international technology and media stocks logged sharp upside movements. U.S.-listed shares of Chinese tech giant Alibaba rose 4.67 percent after the company unveiled its "Qwen3.8 Max" AI model, which it claimed ranks second globally only to Anthropic's frontier Fable 5 architecture. Cinema operator AMC Entertainment surged 26.8 percent after delivering second-quarter financial results that beat consensus estimates.

Wall Street is searching for the next major catalyst to revitalize the AI trade following weeks of intense sector rotation. Market participants have elevated performance expectations for quarterly financial releases scheduled later this week from Alphabet, Intel, IBM, and Tesla, as investors demand concrete proof that corporate capital spending on AI infrastructure is yielding scalable revenue monetization.