Financial Markets                      06/22 15:28

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks drifted through a mixed day of trading on 
Monday after oil prices eased and falling Big Tech stocks weighed on Wall 
Street.

   The S&P 500 slipped 0.4%, coming off its 11th winning week in the last 12, 
and pulled 1.8% below its all-time high set early this month. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average added 148 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite slumped 
1.3%.

   In the oil market, prices fell following talks over the weekend between the 
United States and Iran on their war. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said they 
created a "good foundation for a successful final deal."

   An end to the war could clear the Strait of Hormuz for oil tankers and allow 
for the undisputed resumption of deliveries from the Persian Gulf. Iran's 
military had said Saturday that it closed the Strait of Hormuz again, though 
U.S. Central Command has disputed that.

   The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 3.2% to $77.52, closer to its 
roughly $70 price from before the war. Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 2.6% to 
$73.86 per barrel.

   The lower oil prices, though, did not pull down Treasury yields in the bond 
market. Yields have been climbing because of speculation the Federal Reserve 
may hike interest rates this year to keep a lid on inflation, which has been 
accelerating because of expensive oil caused by the Iran war. Economists expect 
a report on Thursday to show a measure of inflation for U.S. consumers sped up 
to 4.1% in May from 3.8% in April.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.50% from 4.46% late Thursday 
and from just 3.97% before the war.

   Traders are betting on a nearly 90% chance the Fed will raise its federal 
funds rate at least once by the end of the year, with a small minority calling 
for four increases. That's up from the 57% chance seen just a week ago, 
according to data from CME Group.

   High yields in bond markets worldwide caused by worries about inflation are 
threatening to slow economies, and they have already sent rates higher for 
mortgages and other kinds of loans. High yields also hurt prices for 
investments, particularly those seen as the most expensive. That raises the 
pressure on companies whose stock prices have soared in the mania around 
artificial-intelligence technology.

   SpaceX fell 16.4% to $154.60. It's the third straight drop for the company 
behind xAI since a big three-day run following its ballyhooed debut on the U.S. 
stock market, when it initially sold its stock at $135 per share.

   The day's heaviest weights on the S&P 500 included drops of 5% for Alphabet, 
4.7% for Amazon and 4.5% for Broadcom.

   Elsewhere on Wall Street, AbbVie climbed 6.2% after saying it agreed to buy 
Apogee Therapeutics and its potential treatments for patients with 
dermatologic, respiratory and other related inflammatory and immunological 
diseases.

   Apogee Therapeutics soared 46.7% following the announcement of the deal, 
valued at roughly $10.9 billion.

   All told, the S&P 500 fell 27.79 points to 7,472.79. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average added 148.01 to 51,712.71, and the Nasdaq composite fell 
351.33 to 26,166.60.

   In stock markets abroad, the United Kingdom's FTSE 100 rose 0.7% after Keir 
Starmer said he was stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party and 
will leave office within weeks.

   In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.5% and ended at another all-time high, 
led by AI stocks. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.7% to its own record, helped by 
AI-related companies.

   ___

   AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott and AP Senior Producer Mayuko 
Ono contributed to this report.

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