The concern of American investors due to the escalation in the Middle East is beginning to weaken

The US stock market today recovered some of the losses it suffered on Friday, helped by the realization that the conflict between Israel and Iran remains relatively localized and has not yet led to serious disruptions in oil supplies. In this regard, media reports have appeared that Iran is trying to negotiate a cease–fire with Israel through diplomatic channels, although the Israeli side has not yet sent such signals.

Despite this, the market remained positive, most pronounced at the start of the session, when the S&P 500 index rose to 6,050. However, buyers did not keep the initial momentum: the main indexes gradually declined from morning highs during the rest of trading, but still closed with steady growth relative to the opening level.

The growth was supported by shares of megacorporations, which was reflected in the leading positions of the information technology (+1.5%), communication services (+1.5%) and durable goods (+1.2%) sectors. The Vanguard Mega–Cap Growth ETF (MGK) increased by 1.3% against the 0.9% increase in the S&P 500.

Semiconductor companies stood out separately — Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) became the leader. 126,40, +10,24, +8,82%), jumped after CNBC reported that the company may have signed a GPU supply contract with Amazon (AMZN 216,17, +4,07, +1,92%). The Philadelphia semiconductor index added 3.0%, extending quarterly growth to 23.3%. At the same time, shares of defense companies and the energy sector have moved away from the leadership shown on Friday, amid declining concerns about the conflict in the Middle East.

The S&P 500 energy sector declined 0.3% in parallel with the fall in WTI oil prices (71.83, -1.33, -1.8%). Traditionally protective sectors also looked weaker than the market: utilities (-0.5%), healthcare (-0.4%) and consumer goods (+0.02%).

By the end of the day, the number of rising securities exceeded the number of falling ones on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq by a ratio of slightly less than 2 to 1, but by the end of the session this advantage had decreased.

Our portfolio – the FTinvest 11 index, also started trading with the continuation of Friday‘s rally, but soon the enthusiasm decreased, the index began to gradually retreat from the highs under the pressure of lower oil prices, and by the middle of the day it returned to almost zero levels. Nevertheless, the situation began to improve again in the afternoon, and as a result, the index managed to close with an increase of 0.69% at 788.41, falling just over 1% short of the historical maximum reached in early December 2024.