Business
Mideast tensions ease, crude oil prices decline, stocks sag on Wall Street
Stocks on Wall Street wobbled to a mixed finish Monday as oil prices dipped after the U.S. and Iran suspended their strikes as work resumed to restart discussions to end the war.
The S&P 500 was up less than 0.1% after spending most of the day bouncing between minor gains and losses. The benchmark index was coming off two straight weekly losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.2 percent for its fourth straight loss.
The three main stock indexes are on track to post monthly declines. That would be a second straight monthly decline for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
Oil prices turned lower after a week of gains driven by a significant rise in conflict between the U.S. and Iran that raised fears about global oil supplies. Brent crude, the worldwide benchmark, lost 6.3% to end at $85.87 a barrel for October delivery. Last week prices shot up over $100 a barrel before dropping again.
U.S. crude oil for September delivery dropped 7.5% to settle at $82.61 a barrel.
The confrontation between the U.S. and Iran has severely limited, and at times stopped, transportation through the critical Strait of Hormuz. That has sent ripples through the global economy. Gasoline prices have soared and transportation costs are going up for most commodities, and firms usually pass those expenses along to households.
Trading was shaky, with a mix of large firms leading to gains and losses, with technology companies responsible for much of the market swings.
Nvidia sank 5% while Micron Technology lost 2.3%. Microsoft shares jumped 1.9%, while Apple added 1.2%. They are all among the most valuable corporations in the world, and those lofty values give them considerable sway over the broader market’s path.
Most businesses in the S&P 500 rose, but the mix of gains and losses among a range of those companies had more influence in pushing and pulling the market. Communications stocks were among Monday’s winners. Shares of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, increased 2.1%. Charter Communications shares jumped 6.7% while Comcast shares climbed 2.3%.
Credit card issuers and payment processors also profited. American Express was up 2.8%, Capital One Financial added 2.1%, Visa jumped 1.9% and rival Mastercard was up 2.2%. Shares of Chinese memory chip company CXMT jumped on their Shanghai debut. The corporation catapulted to become the most expensive listed company in China, with a projected market value of 3.3 trillion yuan (almost $490 billion).
The S&P 500 was up 1.20 points at 7,413.18. The Dow added 262.83 points, to 52,210.08, while the Nasdaq fell 43.74 points, to 24,932.08.
It’s a busy week ahead on Wall Street with a number of potentially mark-moving developments on the economy and company profits. Consumer confidence reports are coming Tuesday and inflation Thursday.
“This is a week with more than its share of potential surprises, good and bad,” said Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, with E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.
The primary focus will be the Federal Reserve with an announcement on its interest rate policy Wednesday. The central bank has had to deal with the effects of growing inflation, as the U.S. war with Iran continues. It also faces a fresh round of U.S.-imposed tariffs worldwide that might add to its inflation troubles.
Wall Street gives a roughly one-in-three probability the Fed will raise rates at its meeting this week. Raising rates makes borrowing more expensive, which can help cool inflation and hinder economic growth.
The central bank has held rates stable throughout 2023 as it analyzes the course of inflation and its impact on the economy, but Wall Street is wagering on at least one rate hike before the year ends. Inflation is still too high, which is hurting people, and fuel prices have been a particular strain on budgets and expenditure. Higher gasoline prices are pinching household budgets and that may mean cutting back on other things such as clothes and travel.
Investors are looking to the next round of corporate earnings for signs of consumer strain and if the yearlong rally in stock prices across Wall Street is supported by profits and profit-growth predictions.
Investors will also be digesting a strong wave of corporate earnings this week. Many of those studies could shed further light on the health of different parts of the economy. Paint and coatings producer Sherwin-Williams, airplane builder Boeing and payments processor Visa are scheduled to disclose their latest results on Tuesday.
Starbucks and Chipotle are reporting earnings Wednesday. Technology companies have come under particular scrutiny since their huge profits during the year have fueled Wall Street’s record run. Microsoft is due to report earnings on Wednesday. Apple and Amazon (which has a booming cloud services sector and is AI-focused) release earnings Thursday.
Business
More than 700 trucks loaded with relief supplies have crossed into Afghanistan from Pakistan.
The United Nations said Sunday that more than 700 trucks delivering international humanitarian aid reached Afghanistan via Pakistan, despite a near-total shutdown of the land border between the two countries during skirmishes in October.
The convoy was transporting “food and other critical humanitarian items,” Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Afghanistan, told AFP.
“724 trucks of humanitarian cargo have crossed into Afghanistan thru Torkham, reaching families who need it most,” tweeted Mo Yahya, the United Nations Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan.
He also thanked Islamabad and “all those who made it possible for us to maintain the humanitarian lifeline”.
But in early August, the World Food Program (WFP) warned that acute child malnutrition had risen to crisis levels in Afghanistan this year.
WFP said approximately 14 million Afghans are facing acute hunger, following deadly earthquakes last year, several climate-related calamities this year and the return of millions of Afghans from Iran and Pakistan since 2023.
The conflict with Pakistan has caused the near-total closure of the land border between the two countries since October 2025, significantly disrupting logistical routes for the delivery of humanitarian aid, WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau told AFP in May.
Business
SBP: Federal government debt swells by Rs18.8tr in 28 months
In the first 28 months of the current period, federal government debt soared by Rs18,832 billion, with considerable increases in both domestic and external borrowing, documents of the State Bank of Pakistan stated.
The documents revealed that the overseas debt of the federal government climbed by Rs2,066 billion and its internal debt by Rs16,766 billion from March 2024 to June 2026. The surge means an average daily increase in debt of more than Rs22.40 billion.
The data showed that the federal government’s debt stood at Rs64,810 billion by February 2024, the last month of the caretaker government. The government’s total debt increased by Rs18,832 billion to Rs83,642 billion by June 2026 over the next 28 months.
According to the State Bank, the federal government’s internal debt stood at Rs42,675 billion in February 2024, which climbed to Rs59,441 billion by June 2026.
Similarly, the external debt of the federal government was Rs22,134 billion in February 2024, which increased to Rs24,201 billion in June 2026.
Business
PSX starts week on strong note, adds 484 points
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) started the new business week on a high note with the benchmark index gaining 484.38 points in the session.
The current index was 0.27 percent higher than the previous close of 180,104.61 at 180,588.99.
The index hit an intraday high of 181,158.86 and a low of 180,393.34. Volume for the session was 113,603,577 shares.
Asian equities nudged up on Monday, boosted by Chinese stocks ahead of major economic data, with investors keeping a careful eye on oil prices following large gains last week amid a truce in the Gulf crisis.
The U.S. dollar dipped into two-month lows after a slew of underwhelming data, including an unexpected fall in retail sales, prompted markets to give up on bets for an impending rate hike from the Federal Reserve. The CME Group’s FedWatch program currently shows a 30% chance of a rate hike next month, down dramatically from over 50% a week ago.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific equities outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), opens new tab increased 0.5% while Japan’s Nikkei (.N225), opens new tab gained 0.3%.
The CSI300 index of Chinese blue-chips, opens new tab increased 0.8% and the Hang Seng index, opens new tab climbed 1.6% ahead of the release of China’s activity statistics for July later in the day.
Industrial output is forecast to fall to 4.8% from 5.3% before. But investors may be braced for a positive surprise as exports surged on strong global AI demand last month.
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