US stocks close higher as tech rally offsets Iran war concerns

US stocks closed higher on Monday, led by gains in major technology shares, as investors looked past rising oil prices and renewed uncertainty over the Iran war.

The S&P 500 rose 0.19%, or 13.91 points to close at a record high of 7,412.84, also marking the first time the index closed above the 7,400 threshold.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also advanced 0.19%, or 95.31 points to 49,704.47, while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1%, or 27.05 points to a record high of 26,274.12.

The Volatility Index (VIX), often referred to as the market’s “fear index,” rose 6.92% to 18.38.

The gains came despite pressure from energy markets after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s latest proposal to end the months-long conflict, calling it “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” in a Truth Social post on Sunday.

Trump also told reporters Monday that the month-old ceasefire between the US and Iran was “unbelievably weak,” after earlier saying it was “on life support.”

The US president also said Monday he intends to suspend the federal gasoline tax "for a period of time" and phase it back in once fuel prices decline, as pump prices continue to surge amid the Iran war.

Oil futures climbed on the renewed geopolitical concerns, with US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude rising 2% to above $98 per barrel and international benchmark Brent crude gaining 2% to above $104.

Still, technology shares provided support to Wall Street. Micron Technology jumped 7% as the memory chip rally continued, while Nvidia gained 2%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq had rallied more than 2% and 4%, respectively, last week. Both indexes posted their sixth straight weekly gains, while the Dow recorded its fifth weekly gain in six weeks.

On the data side, existing home sales in the US rose 0.2% to 4.02 million in April.

European markets

European stocks also saw mostly positive figures, with the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index gaining 0.11% to close at 612.83 points.

In national markets, Germany’s DAX 40 added 0.07% to 24,355.41, Italy’s FTSE MIB 30 climbed 0.76% to 49,664.95, and the UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.36% to finish at 10,269.43.

On the other hand, France’s CAC 40, meanwhile, fell 0.69% to 8,056.38, and Spain's IBEX 35 lost 0.21% to 17,852.50.