US markets rebound on Monday as crude oil prices retreat from recent highs

The US markets rebounded on Monday as investors reassessed the risks arising from the Iran conflict. The benchmark Dow Jones jumped 220 points or 0.5%, the S&P500 by 70 points or 1%, and the NASDAQ by 292 points or 1% at 10:30 pm on Monday. The buoyancy among the investors rose from the fact that some tankers passed through the Strait of Hormuz, easing the pressure of rising crude oil prices.

The WTI crude oil prices erased all the morning gains and fell by over 4% below the $95 per barrel mark, and the Brent crude oil prices also fell below the $100 per barrel mark. The move follows after the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the US is allowing Iranian Oil tankers to transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

The fall in crude oil prices eased the pressure on the treasury yields as the US 10Y fell below 4.25% after touching nearly 4.3% on Friday. Consequently, the rate-sensitive stocks gained, along with the tech stocks. Chip stocks like Nvidia rose over 2%, Micron rose by 5% ahead of its earnings this week. Meta Platforms shares rose by 2% as it plans to layoff 20% of the workforce due to operational efficiency gains arising from AI adoption.

The gold prices hovered at the $5000 per ounce level as the pullback in crude oil prices and the US dollar cooled the demand for safe-haven assets. Similarly, the silver prices too hovered around $80 per ounce on Monday evening. The gold prices have corrected by nearly 8% and the silver prices by 16% since the conflict broke out on February 27.

Apart from the conflict, investors will closely watch the developments happening around NVIDIA. CEO Jensen Huang will be addressing the annual chipmaker’s developer conference starting Monday. Investors are keen to see what new products and offerings will be rolled out during the conference.