US open: Stocks mixed as Iran uncertainty offsets AI rally

2nd Jun 2026 14:06

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks opened mixed on Tuesday, with investors pausing for breath after indices reached new heights the previous session, as an ongoing rally in the chip and AI sectors was dampened by continuing uncertainty in the Middle East.

Within the first hour of trading, the Dow was down 0.2%, the S&P 500 was flat, and the Nasdaq edged 0.1% higher. All three benchmarks registered tepid gains on Monday to finish at new all-time closing highs.

Oil prices were stabilising after Israel halted strikes on Lebanon. Brent crude jumped more than 4.2% on Monday and WTI crude rose 5.5% following reports that Iran has suspended peace talks with the US until Israel ends its operations in Lebanon. Shortly after markets opened on Tuesday, oil prices were more or less flat, erasing earlier losses.

"Analysts and investors seem to remain convinced that any after-effects from the war upon global oil supply and demand will be limited, and that hydrocarbon assets remain at risk of being stranded as the globe transitions toward more renewable sources of energy," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

Tech stocks powered markets to new highs on Monday after a new product announcement from Nvidia prompted massive gains in the heavyweight chip sector. Nvidia unveiled a new superchip jointly developed with Microsoft that promises to "reinvent Windows PCs for the era of personal AI agents", equipping PCs with AI capabilities locally, rather than relying on cloud computing. Nvidia was making further gains on Tuesday, along with Broadcom, Micron Technology and TSMC.

However, other tech heavyweights such as Microsoft, Amazon, Intel and Alphabet were in the red, limiting upside on the Nasdaq.

The AI mania continued on Tuesday after Anthropic confirmed plans to debut on the New York Stock Exchange, in what is expected to be one of the biggest-ever initial public offerings. In a brief update posted late on Monday, the American AI specialist, known for its Claude chatbot, said it had confidentially submitted draft paperwork to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Booming AI demand also drove the surge in US-listed shares of semiconductor group STMicroelectronics on Tuesday, after the European chip contract manufacturer raised revenue guidance for its data centres business. Data centre revenues are now tipped to be around $1bn in 2026, compared with the previous target of "nicely above $500m", while 2027 revenues could double, the company said.

In other equity news, Abivax shares plunged after the French pharma company reported adverse side effects from a late-stage clinical trial of its experimental bowel-disease drug, obefazimod.

Lastly, in economic data, US job openings jumped to their highest in nearly two years in April, according to the closely watched JOLTS survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Job openings rose by 731,000 to 7.62m in April, surprising economists who had pencilled in a broadly flat reading from March's 6.89m. This was the highest since May 2024, as openings in the professional and business services sectors surged.

Dow Jones - Risers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $127.01 5.94%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $885.96 2.52%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $1,054.90 1.05%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $323.23 0.72%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $186.85 0.68%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $115.10 0.04%

Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $0.00 0.00%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $0.00 0.00%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $288.64 -0.06%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $199.16 -5.43%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $447.02 -3.83%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $106.16 -3.57%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $44.33 -3.55%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $100.65 -2.08%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $324.60 -1.61%

Visa Inc. (V) $318.35 -1.61%

Boeing Co. (BA) $220.75 -1.60%

3M Co. (MMM) $149.61 -0.75%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $273.83 -0.69%

S&P 500 - Risers

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $59.58 26.78%

Corning Inc. (GLW) $192.26 9.10%

Fluor Corp. (FLR) $49.38 5.95%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $127.01 5.94%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $470.86 5.81%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $480.14 5.76%

Kohls Corp. (KSS) $15.76 5.70%

TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $11.98 5.49%

NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $184.16 5.41%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $407.59 5.21%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $58.24 -9.60%

Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62%

CME Group Inc. (CME) $247.57 -7.81%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $321.32 -7.76%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $199.16 -5.43%

Copart Inc. (CPRT) $31.07 -5.09%

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $400.31 -4.72%

Ford Motor Co. (F) $15.95 -4.36%

Gartner Inc. (IT) $171.79 -4.25%

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $29.23 -4.17%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $30.36 6.01%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $126.98 5.94%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $470.55 5.81%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $479.46 5.76%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $407.22 5.21%

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $136.78 5.03%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $499.04 4.98%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $325.05 4.82%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $568.13 4.60%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $942.69 4.48%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $321.36 -7.76%

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $400.30 -4.72%

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $148.22 -4.70%

Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $54.06 -4.41%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $447.63 -3.83%

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $218.64 -3.77%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $105.70 -3.57%

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $600.90 -3.03%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $112.02 -2.90%