Market Overview
U.S. and Iranian forces continued a cycle of retaliatory strikes on Monday, marking the ninth consecutive day of U.S. attacks and prompting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to claim strikes on U.S. aircraft in Jordan and on American military assets in Kuwait and Syria. Bahrain’s interior ministry reported sirens sounding early Monday, underscoring heightened regional tension.
Oil Market Impact
The renewed hostilities revived upward pressure on Brent crude, which at 03:21 ET rose 2.8% to $90.56 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures gained 2.3% to $84.39 a barrel. Brent had previously spiked above $110 during the early phase of the conflict and later settled near $70 after the June cease‑fire; the latest escalation has pushed it back above the $90 threshold, reigniting concerns about a global inflation surge that could prompt central banks to raise rates.
U.S. Equity Futures
U.S. stock futures ticked higher in early trading. By 03:33 ET the Dow futures contract added 50 points (0.1%), S&P 500 futures rose 17 points (0.2%), and Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 129 points (0.5%). The gains came as investors braced for a week of high‑profile technology earnings, including chipmaker Intel, Alphabet (Google’s parent), and electric‑vehicle maker Tesla.
Semiconductor Sector Sentiment
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) closed more than 20% below its June 22 level, formally entering bear‑market territory. Analysts at Vital Knowledge attributed the week’s bearish tilt to a narrative shift and technical dislocation rather than new negative news, noting that many active managers are scaling back exposure to AI‑related stocks.
Moonshot AI Fundraising and IPO Plans
China‑based Moonshot AI disclosed that it is preparing a Hong Kong initial public offering within the next six months, having circulated a shareholder resolution seeking approval for the listing. Concurrently, the three‑year‑old startup is completing a private funding round that could value the company at more than $30 billion, although financing terms remain undisclosed. The company’s recent launch of the Kimi K3 open‑weight model has attracted investor interest, even as Moonshot acknowledges it trails Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 and OpenAI’s GPT‑5.6 in overall capability.
SpaceX Starship Test Flight
SpaceX announced plans to attempt the thirteenth test flight of its Starship vehicle as early as Thursday. The mission will aim to achieve launch, ascent, stage separation, boost‑back burn, and landing‑burn at an offshore point while carrying Starlink V3 satellites. The previous week’s flight was aborted minutes before liftoff due to engine start‑up issues, and the 12th flight also experienced engine problems that triggered a Federal Aviation Administration investigation. In extended‑hours trading, SpaceX shares rose more than 1% following the announcement.