US stocks hover near records as oil jumps on Strait of Hormuz worries

Newyork,UPDATED: Aug 11, 2026 00:32 IST

US stocks drifted near record levels on Monday, while oil prices rose as uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz clouded the global flow of crude. Investors were also watching for this week's key US inflation data, which could shape expectations on interest rates.

The S&P 500 was down 0.1 per cent after moving between small gains and losses, coming off the record high it set on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 133 points, or 0.3 per cent, by 2.03 pm Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.4 per cent lower.

The momentum behind stocks has slowed after a rally driven by strong profits at large US companies. According to FactSet, reports are on track to show that earnings per share for companies in the S&P 500 were 50 per cent higher in the spring than a year earlier. That would mark the strongest growth in five years, when the economy was rebounding sharply from the disruption caused by COVID.

Berkshire Hathaway was among the latest companies to report stronger profit for the last quarter than analysts had expected. Over the weekend, the company built by Warren Buffett also said it had invested part of its large cash pile in stocks under its new chief executive Greg Abel. Berkshire Hathaway has long been known for buying stocks it sees as attractively priced, even as criticism has grown that US stocks look expensive overall. Its shares rose 1.4 per cent, making it one of the strongest upward forces on the S&P 500.

Among other stocks, MarineMax surged 45.8 per cent after the retailer, marina operator and superyacht services provider said it had agreed to sell itself for about USD 1.5 billion in cash to a portfolio company of Blackstone. Varex Imaging jumped 48.7 per cent after Teledyne Technologies said it would buy the maker of X-ray imaging components for USD 18.90 per share in cash.

Technology stocks were the main drag on the market. NVIDIA fell 2.5 per cent and Apple dropped 2 per cent. Intel lost 3.4 per cent after saying it may sell USD 15 billion of its stock. The move would dilute the stakes of existing investors, and Intel said it would probably use the money for investments aimed at tapping the heavy spending underway on artificial-intelligence technology.

In the oil market, Brent crude rose 4.7 per cent to USD 87.50 a barrel. Prices had swung between USD 72 and USD 102 last month as hopes rose and fell over whether the United States and Iran could reach an agreement that would allow oil tankers to leave the Middle East freely again and deliver crude worldwide. Those hopes are now turning to caution again, with Brent back to levels seen earlier this month, as well as in mid-July, mid-June and in the first week of the war in March.

Higher oil prices can add to inflation, and Wall Street's main focus this week is likely to be Wednesday's update on US consumer prices. Economists expect inflation to have eased to 3.4 per cent last month from 3.5 per cent in June. A slowdown would reduce pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, though higher rates would help contain inflation while also making borrowing costlier for households and businesses and weighing on stock prices.

A report on Friday showing weaker-than-expected hiring across the United States lowered Wall Street's expectations of another rate hike soon. Even so, traders still see a 50 per cent chance that the Fed will raise its main interest rate at its September meeting, according to CME Group data. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.70 per cent from 4.65 per cent late Friday. That is up from 3.97 per cent before the war with Iran and has already pushed up mortgage rates and other borrowing costs. In overseas markets, indexes were mixed in Europe after gains across much of Asia, with Japan's Nikkei 225 rising 2.1 per cent.

Overall, US markets stayed close to record levels as strong corporate earnings supported stocks, even as technology shares weakened, oil climbed and investors waited for fresh inflation data and clearer signals on interest rates.

With PTI Inputs

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