Closing Bell: Stocks and Oil Lower as U.S. Tariffs Threaten Canada, China, Others

U.S. stocks were mostly lower on Monday as a drop in semiconductor stocks overshadowed a move lower in Treasury yields and oil prices.

The S&P 500 (SPX) was down 0.28%, while the Nasdaq-100 (NDX) fell 0.97%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index ($DJI) was up 0.26%, while the small-cap Russell 2000 (RUT) fell 0.76%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) fell another 2.7% Monday and is down 22% since hitting its all-time high two months ago.

Among S&P 500 companies, the consumer staples sector fared best, up nearly 1.8%, while Information Technology names were the worst performers, down 1.6%. The strongest performers in the S&P were Expedia Group (EXPE), up 5.5%, and Dollar Tree (DLTR), up 4%. SanDisk (SNDK) and Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) each fell about 6.5% Monday, making them the biggest S&P 500 decliners, followed by Micron Technologies (MU) and Ciena (CIEN), which were each down about 6% Monday. Tech peers Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Broadcom (AVGO) pulled back 3.5% and 2.6%, respectively.

The U.S. Treasury threatened to impose sanctions on countries and entities that do business with Iran, according to reports, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that "the best way to engage with countries is through quiet diplomacy ... we know who they are, they know who they are." Bessent warned that "any entity that helps facilitate money laundering on behalf of Iran will be removed from the U.S. dollar system. The clock just started ticking." China buys most of Iran's shipped oil, and the U.S. imposed sanctions on a Chinese refiner in April for buying Iranian crude, according to reports.

The CBOE Market Volatility Index spiked nearly 5% Monday to 15.84. Gold and Bitcoin futures moved higher.

Four things to watch from Monday's markets:

• The U.S. oil price benchmark fell back a bit, sliding 2.3% Monday to a recent $85 per barrel. Read Markets Impacted by Oil Price Inflation
• Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) fell nearly 3% ahead of its Wednesday earnings report. Nvidia told some of its largest customers that prices for servers containing AI chips are going to increase more than 15%, according to Bloomberg.
• U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods including autos and auto parts, metals, dairy products, alcohol will be met with dollar-for-dollar retaliation in September, according to reports. President Donald Trump said tariffs on Canadian cars and automotive parts will increase to 50% on Jan. 1, 2027. See U.S. Trade Tensions Intensify Between Iran & Canada, NVDA Earnings This Week
• Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) shares fell after the company announced a plan to raise about $10.2 billion from a share sale, at a steep discount, to fund AI ambitions. See Options Corner: BABA Share Sale Leads to Stock Slide | Morning Movers

For this week's earnings and economic calendar, see Week Ahead: Jackson Hole Puts Fed in Focus, Nvidia (NVDA) Earnings

Angrej Singh and Tom White contributed to this article