Wall Street ends mixed as chip sell-off deepens and oil plunges more than 7% on Iran diplomacy hopes
The Dow rose 0.41% to 51,983.98 while the Nasdaq fell 1.07% to 25,164.32, as a technology sell-off erased early gains and Brent crude dropped $8.66 to $104.77 a barrel.
Wall Street closed mixed on Monday as a deepening sell-off in technology and chip stocks erased an early rally, even as oil prices plunged more than 7% on growing hopes that diplomacy could ease tensions between the United States and Iran.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 213.67 points, or 0.41%, to close at 51,983.98, while the S&P 500 fell 38.67 points, or 0.51%, to 7,541.40. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 272.68 points, or 1.07%, to 25,164.32, its third consecutive daily loss alongside the S&P 500.
The session began brightly, with the major indexes climbing more than 1% in early trading as oil prices fell sharply. But buying on dips soon gave way to selling on rallies in technology, and the sector closed down 2.9%, reversing an early gain of as much as 0.8% after its 4.9% fall on Friday.
Chip stocks bore the brunt of the selling. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled 3.37%, with Advanced Micro Devices down 7.52%, Intel down 8.80% and Micron down 5.78%. Western Digital and Seagate each lost more than 7%, and SanDisk fell more than 6%, as investors continued to question the profitability of heavy spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Oracle fell about 8% after announcing plans to raise $20 billion through a sale of common stock and bonds to finance its AI build-out, while Apple closed down nearly 2% ahead of its quarterly earnings release after the closing bell. Marvell Technology fell 7.6% after saying it would buy optical components maker Lumentum in a $115 billion all-stock deal including debt.
Oil was the day’s other big mover. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $96.46 a barrel, down $7.66 or 7.36%, while Brent crude fell $8.66 or 7.63% to $104.77 a barrel, its biggest dollar decline since mid-April. Traders pointed to reports that Washington and Tehran were seeking a diplomatic resolution to their eight-month conflict, raising hopes that disruptions to Middle East supply could ease.
Despite the headline declines, market breadth was fairly positive: 346, or 69%, of S&P 500 components closed higher, and eight of the 11 sectors ended the day in positive territory. The Dow’s gain was helped by the sharp fall in oil, which eased pressure on consumers and transport costs.
On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for October came in at 55.5, above the market consensus of 54.6, although its prices index registered 75.2, signalling that inflationary pressure remains elevated. Markets priced in a 73.2% probability that the Federal Reserve will raise its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points in December, while the yield on the 10-year US government bond fell 3.4 basis points to 4.895%.
Investors now face a crowded week: Americans vote in midterm elections on Tuesday, with Democrats expected to take control of the House while control of the Senate remains uncertain, more big technology earnings are due, and the government’s October nonfarm payrolls report is scheduled for Friday. Figures in this post were checked at 06:20 PKT on Tuesday, 3 November 2026.
This post is market news information only, not financial advice.
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