Wall Street's main indexes gained on Monday as easing tensions in the Middle East lifted sentiment following recent hostilities between the U.S. and Iran, while Comcast shares soared on plans to split into two companies. Iranian and U.S. technical teams working to implement an interim peace deal are expected to meet in Doha in the coming days, a source told Reuters on Monday after strikes over the weekend threatened the fragile peace.
While diplomatic efforts to put an end to the conflict have calmed investors, caustic rhetoric and occasional flare-ups in the region have at times raised the risk of a broader escalation that could push oil prices higher.
"There have been several false starts in peace negotiations. I would expect most market participants to remain in a holding pattern through the rest of this week," said Peter Andersen, founder of Andersen Capital Management.
At 09:41 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 280.09 points, or 0.54%, to 52,154.45, the S&P 500 gained 58.50 points, or 0.80%, to 7,413.02 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 339.77 points, or 1.34%, to 25,637.39.
Eight of 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes were in the green. Communications services led gains with a 2.6% jump, with Comcast advancing 9.8% after the media and cable provider said it plans to separate into two independent publicly traded companies through a tax-free spinoff of NBCUniversal and Sky.
AI WORRIES COMPLICATE OUTLOOK
The earnings season is set to begin in the coming weeks, marking the next major test for stocks this year.
"The 21% S&P 500 return over the past 12 months has been driven entirely by earnings, making the upcoming Q2 2026 reporting season an important catalyst for the forward trajectory of the market," said Ben Snider, chief U.S. equity strategist at Goldman Sachs
Concerns about AI spending have injected an additional dose of uncertainty into the market.
A selloff last week punished investor favorites such as semiconductors and the so-called Magnificent Seven, and drove the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to weekly losses. The blue-chip Dow Jones held up better than the other Wall Street benchmarks last week, gaining 0.6%.
However on Monday, the information technology index added 0.8% and was poised to snap a five-session losing streak.
Traders are also expecting at least one rate hike by the Federal Reserve this year to keep inflation under control. They would likely reassess those bets later this week, when the U.S. releases the jobs data for June.
SpaceX also rose 2.3% after Nasdaq said the newly listed company will be added to the Nasdaq 100 index on July 7.
Martin Marietta Materials fell 5% after it said it would merge with limestone supplier Lhoist North America in a deal worth $13.5 billion.
Shares of Viridian Therapeutics jumped 6.6% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its drug to treat patients with thyroid eye disease.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.15-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.47-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded no new highs and no new lows.
