[New York Stock Market] Dow Hits Another Record High... Mixed Close Amid Hopes for Hormuz Strait Agreement and Tech Weakness

Dow Hits Record High
S&P 500 and Nasdaq Drop on Tech Weakness
Nvidia Gains 4%
Global Oil Prices Mixed Amid Houthi Attacks

The three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed on August 5 (local time), as expectations for negotiations between Iran and Oman regarding the reopening of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz clashed with declines in artificial intelligence (AI)-related technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit another record high on the back of strong corporate earnings and easing tensions in the Middle East, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes fell due to weakness in technology stocks such as AMD and Alphabet.

At the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 54,349.12, up 263.24 points (0.49%) from the previous session. The S&P 500, which tracks mostly large-cap stocks, fell by 12.97 points (0.17%) to close at 7,723.55. The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped by 221.55 points (0.83%) to 26,363.43.

Inside the New York Stock Exchange. New York, USA – Special Correspondent Yoonjoo Hwang

At the beginning of the session, the New York market saw a buying spree driven by strong earnings from major companies such as Disney and Eli Lilly, pushing the S&P 500 above the 7,700 mark and to an intraday record high before pulling back slightly. The Dow Jones closed at an all-time high.

Among technology stocks, Intel rose 0.20%, Micron was up 0.06%, and Meta gained 0.14% in minor advances. Nvidia stood out, surging by 3.43%. This was attributed to Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, announcing during the previous day's earnings call that the company would exclusively use Nvidia chips for future AI computing infrastructure.

AMD’s quarterly results slightly beat market expectations, but they were seen as falling short of heightened investor hopes. Coupled with SpaceX's decision to use Nvidia chips exclusively, AMD fell by 7.04%. Alphabet dropped by 4.03% following its AI department reorganization and the departure of key executive Jeff Dean. Microsoft declined by 1.09%, and TSMC lost 0.76%.

Hopes for a breakthrough in reopening the Strait of Hormuz also influenced trading. Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated, “Iran and Oman, the two littoral states bordering the Strait of Hormuz, have been negotiating for the past two months to establish safe shipping routes for merchant vessels. An agreement has been reached on the geographic coordinates of the proposed route.” He added, “A joint statement outlining the main considerations and points of agreement between the two countries is now being reviewed and finalized.”

International oil prices moved in different directions. Expectations for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, combined with an unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories, pushed down WTI prices. However, Brent prices rose slightly as concerns about supply disruption persisted after Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, claimed to have attacked Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled at $75.22 per barrel, down 0.7% from the previous close. On the ICE Futures Exchange, October delivery Brent crude rose by 0.1% to close at $79.45 per barrel.

Jose Torres of Interactive Brokers said, "It’s natural for Wall Street to adopt a wait-and-see approach." He added, "After the overheated morning session, stocks flattened out while investors await further developments in Middle East affairs."

Meanwhile, the U.S. services sector continued to expand in July. However, while the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) services index fell short of expectations, the S&P Global index was stronger than anticipated, resulting in somewhat different economic assessments between survey organizations.

According to ISM, the U.S. Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for July rose to 54.1 from 54.0 in June, up 0.1 point, but below the market expectation of 54.5. S&P Global’s final July PMI for U.S. services was revised up to 54.6 from the preliminary figure of 53.6.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.