Wall Street Today: DJIA, S&P 500, Nasdaq Comp Up as WDC, MU, GOOGL Rise on Muted Oil Gains

The Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 and Dow-30 inched up Tuesday as energy prices rose only slightly despite the ongoing U.S.-Israel-Iran war and Tehran's threats to attack oil tankers using the key Strait of Hormuz.

The $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ gained 105.35 points (0.5%) to a 22,479.53 close, while the $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ added 16.71 ticks (0.3%) to 6,716.09 and the $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ rose 46.85 points (0.1%) to 47,993.26.

Macro

The three indexes gained ground as oil prices saw only muted gains even as the Mideast conflict raged on, threatening global energy supplies.

$Crude Oil Futures (AUG6) (CLmain.US)$ were at $96.02 a barrel at last check on the New York Mercantile Exchange – up 2.5% on the day, but below their $98.42 session peak.

Petroleum futures are also some 20% beneath the $119.48 peak that they saw on March 9 – 10 days after the United States and Israel launched air attacks against Iran over Tehran's alleged nuclear-weapons and missile programs.

The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Comp have generally moved in the opposite direction of energy prices since the conflict began, rising when oil prices decline or only rise modestly, but falling when energy costs shoot up.

Wall Street fears that sustained higher energy prices will harm industrialized economies like America's.

Oil prices rose slightly Tuesday on reports that U.S. allies and other countries that rely on petroleum traversing the Strait of Hormuz have reacted coolly to America's proposed joint military action to keep the waterway open.

Some 20% of global oil production travels on tankers through the strait, which is located off of Iran's coast.

However, U.S. President Donald Trump tempered concerns about other nations' assistance by saying on social media that Washington doesn't need help from its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies or other countries.

"Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer 'need,' or desire, the NATO Countries'assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea," the president wrote.

That appeared to temper oil's gains. The modest energy increases also helped Big Tech stocks, which rely on geopolitical calm and relatively strong developed economies to sell their wares globally.

Tuesday's tech gainers included $Western Digital (WDC.US)$ (up 9.6%), $Micron Technology (MU.US)$ (4.5% stronger), $Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$ (ahead 1.8%) and $Amazon (AMZN.US)$ (1.6% firmer).

However, $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ eased 0.7% despite Day Two of its widely followed annual GTC conference.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also reiterated his Monday comments that the chip giant will see $1 trillion of revenue between now and 2027's end. He even clarified that the company will just see such revenues from existing orders for its Blackwell and Rubin advanced chips, with future orders and sales of other products boosting total revenues even higher.

Moo-vers

The "Magnificent Seven" stocks mostly followed the broad market's lead, with a majority of Mag-7 names ending Tuesday higher.

$Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$ and $Amazon (AMZN.US)$ led the Mag-7 winners with their aforementioned increases of 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively. Other Mag-7 winners included $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ up 0.9%) and $Apple (AAPL.US)$ (0.6%) better.

However, three Mag-7 stocks declined – $Meta Platforms (META.US)$ (off 0.8%), $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ (which fell a previously noted 0.7%) and $Microsoft (MSFT.US)$ (down 0.1%).

Beyond the Mag-7, Tuesday's significant percentage losers included:

– $Tencent Music (TME.US)$, down 24.7%. The Chinese music-streaming platform sank after reporting its monthly active users dropped 5%, reportedly amid competition from rivals like ByteDance's Douyin. That overshadowed Q4 revenues and adjusted earnings that matched analyst estimates.

– $NEBIUS (NBIS.US)$, which lost 10.4%. The tech-infrastructure firm fell on word of a $3.75 billion convertible-bond offering, which will presumably dilute existing shareholders.

– Select optical-networking stocks, which fell after Nvidia's CEO said at the GTC conference that the chip giant will use both fiberoptic and copper wiring for its products. That hit stocks like$Credo Technology (CRDO.US)$ (down 11%), $Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI.US)$ (8.2% lower), $Corning (GLW.US)$ (which gave up 1.6%) and $Coherent (COHR.US)$ (off 0.6%).

Conversely, Tuesday's major percentage gainers included:

– $Rocket Lab (RKLB.US)$, up 10.2%. The space-launch firm has been rebounding in recent days after hitting a two-week low last week. (Shares later pulled back in after-hours trading when RKLB disclosed plans for a $1 billion secondary stock offering.)

– Certain cryptocurrency-related stocks, which rose despite $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$ gaining only 0.7% to $74,564 at last check and $Ethereum (ETH.CC)$ falling 0.1% to $2,330.83. Gainers included $Circle (CRCL.US)$ which rose 5.2% in apparent reaction to word that $MasterCard (MA.US)$ is buying rival stablecoin startup BVNK for $1.8 billion. Other crypto-related stocks to improve included $Coinbase (COIN.US)$ (up 3.4%), $Robinhood (HOOD.US)$ (2.7% better) and $Strategy (MSTR.US)$ (which added 1.9%).

– Select defense/security stocks, which rose amid the ongoing Mideast conflict. Gainers included $Ondas (ONDS.US)$ (up 7.1%) and $Palantir (PLTR.US)$ (1.6% stronger).

Disclaimer: This presentation is for informational and educational use only and is not a recommendation or endorsement of any particular investment or investment strategy. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be directly invested in. Past performance is no indication of future results. Investing involves risk and the potential to lose principal. Investment information provided in this content is general in nature, strictly for illustrative purposes, and may not be appropriate for all investors. It is provided without respect to individual investors' financial sophistication, financial situation, investment objectives, investing time horizon, or risk tolerance. You should consider the appropriateness of this information regarding your relevant personal circumstances before making any investment decisions. Past investment performance does not indicate or guarantee future success. Returns will vary, and all investments carry risks, including loss of principal.

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