US stocks open mixed on Monday; NASDAQ 100 rises led by tech stocks, S&P 500 and Dow Jones turn red

The US stocks opened the week on a muted note on Monday as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to remain elevated. The S&P 500 lingered near record-high levels, while the Dow Jones fell over 170 points. On the contrary, the NASDAQ 100 remained in the green, led by chip stocks.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices remained steady on flat lines after media reports indicated an extension of the ceasefire between the US and Iran. Brent crude oil prices hovered around $89 per barrel, and WTI crude oil prices hovered near $83 per barrel.

The AI-ecosystem stocks traded in high optimism after Anthropic’s results suggested strong growth in the top line. Anthropic posted revenue of $11.75 billion in the second-quarter results, ahead of its potential IPO.

Taking cues from robust results, shares of SanDisk Corporation rose 7% as the top gainer in the NASDAQ 100 index, followed by Micron (+4%), Cisco (+1.5%), and Nvidia (+0.2%), top gainers from the chip stocks pack.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Monday; KOSPI rose 2.4%, the most amongst Asian markets, followed by Hang Seng at +1.3% and Shanghai Composite at +1.4%. Meanwhile, the Japanese Nikkei closed 0.7% higher after the Q2 GDP growth stood at 0.3%, below expectations.

The US Treasury yields surged back to 4.7% on the 10Y note as investors remained cautious over persistent inflation fears. Last week’s inflation data abated fears of rate hikes in the upcoming policy meeting in September.

On the other hand, global gold and silver prices continue to witness traction on Monday as surging real yields (nominal yields minus inflation expectations) fall. Gold prices traded 1% higher at the $4,420 per ounce level, and silver prices surged over 2% to hit the $66.1 per oz mark on Monday evening.