Today’s Market Recap: Tech Slipped as Trump Postpones Iran Strike Amid Gulf Talks

Track the Market Trend

TradingKey - The S&P 500 slipped 0.07% to 7,403.05, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.51% to 26,090.73 due to softness in the technology sector, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.32% to 49,686.12 as cyclical stocks held up.

Among semiconductors, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) closed at $420.99, down 0.73%, and Nvidia (NVDA) finished at $222.32, down 1.33%, underscoring broad sector pressure on chipmakers. Intel (INTC), a major PC and data center chipmaker, closed Monday at $108.17, down 0.55%. The stock slipped during the regular session as traders weighed recent earnings strength and AI-driven momentum against profit-taking following last week’s volatility and a fresh warning regarding potential AI "bubble risk."

Micron Technology (MU), a memory and storage chip maker, closed Monday at $681.54, down 5.95%. The stock swung lower after early gains as reports pointed to a broader semiconductor sell-off, valuation worries following an AI-driven rally, and investor debate over memory-market risks tied to Samsung strike headlines and China exposure. Investors are closely tracking how AI-driven DRAM and HBM demand supports pricing and margins.

Archer Aviation (ACHR), which develops electric aircraft for urban air taxi operations, closed Monday at $5.92, down 2.15%. The stock moved lower as investors focused on liquidity and execution risks.

T1 Energy (TE), a solar and battery energy solutions provider, closed Monday at $7.00, up 23.46%. The stock moved higher after hedge fund Situational Awareness LP disclosed a sizable new stake and bullish analyst commentary followed stronger Q1 results. Investors will be watching for continued earnings execution and institutional demand.

Market Headline

Donald Trump unexpectedly halted military plans, announcing that at the request of three Gulf nations, he postponed an attack on Iran originally scheduled for Tuesday. Trump stated that the delay was decided because serious negotiations are currently underway, and the leaders and allies of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates believe both sides will ultimately reach an agreement. This deal would specify the core clause that Iran must not possess nuclear weapons. However, the military remains fully prepared to launch a massive, comprehensive strike against Iran at any moment if a satisfactory agreement cannot be achieved. Following the announcement of the postponed attack, U.S. crude oil, which had jumped over 4% to hit a intraday high, saw its gains shrink to less than 1%.

According to reports, Trump will host the swearing-in ceremony for Kevin Warsh on Friday. The last time a Federal Reserve Chair took the oath of office at the White House dates back approximately 40 years to Alan Greenspan's inauguration in 1987; all subsequent incoming chairs took their oaths at the Federal Reserve headquarters. The arrangement for this upcoming ceremony directly highlights Trump's close attention to Warsh's appointment.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury reported that foreign investors suffered up to $142.1 billion in floating losses on their long-term U.S. Treasury holdings in March. The Treasury's report showed that the volume of U.S. government debt held by foreign investors decreased by $138.4 billion month-over-month from February, primarily driven by floating valuation losses on long-term Treasury debt during a sell-off triggered by the conflict in Iran.

Political infighting has escalated in the United Kingdom as Keir Starmer emphasized that he will not simply walk away and stated that he still plans to contest the next general election. Starmer declared that his political career is not over and refused to set a timeline for his resignation, marking his third public rejection of demands to step down over the past week. Media tallies show that about one-quarter of Labour MPs have publicly demanded that Starmer step down or initiate a leadership contest.

A South Korean court has ordered that the strike at Samsung Electronics must not disrupt production. The Suwon District Court instructed the Samsung Electronics union to ensure that its upcoming full-scale strike does not impact production volumes and does not cause damage to the production raw materials of this globally crucial memory chip manufacturer.

At the invitation of the Chinese President, Russian President Vladimir Putin will conduct a state visit to China from May 19 to 20. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs introduced the arrangements for Putin's visit. Director of the European-Central Asian Affairs Department Guo Jiakun noted that this will mark President Putin's 25th visit to China. During the visit, the two heads of state will exchange views on bilateral relations, cooperation across various fields, and international and regional issues of mutual concern.

Nvidia announced that its Vera CPU systems have arrived at the AI laboratories of Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceX, and Oracle (ORCL). These are the first CPUs specifically engineered for AI agents, and their delivery signals that agent-specific CPUs have officially transitioned from the announcement phase into mass production.

Elon Musk lost his lawsuit against OpenAI as the jury ruled that the statute of limitations had expired. The jury determined that Musk had possessed sufficient information years ago but delayed filing his lawsuit until 2024, meaning it had exceeded the procedural time limit. Due to this procedural hurdle, the jury did not address the core dispute of the case: whether OpenAI's transition into a commercial enterprise for profit violated its founding mission to benefit humanity. Musk subsequently stated that he will appeal the verdict to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Top 10 Most Traded Stocks

The chart below lists the ten most actively traded stocks in the market last Friday. Bolstered by massive trading volume and exceptional liquidity, these assets have become key benchmarks for tracking global market dynamics.