Finance

Global energy markets experienced a major correction on Monday as Brent crude prices tumbled over 6% to settle below $89 a barrel. The steep drop followed a sudden pause in airstrikes between the U.S. and Iran, reducing immediate supply disruption anxieties. The falling energy costs weighed heavily on the broader S&P 500 energy sector, pulling down shares of major oil corporations like Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum.

Apple shares rose to finish near record highs, pushing the iPhone maker's valuation to $4.95 trillion and moving it past chipmaker Nvidia to become the most valuable publicly traded U.S. company. Nvidia shares fell around 5% following headlines regarding potential overseas chipmaking equipment competition. Tech investors are shifting positions defensively as Wall Street braces for high-stakes quarterly reports from Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Apple later this week.

Market participants are demonstrating heightened nervousness ahead of Wednesday's upcoming Federal Reserve policy announcement, which analysts consider one of the least predictable in years. Though the majority expectation remains for unchanged interest rates, futures markets show traders pricing in a nearly 38% chance of a surprise 25-basis-point rate hike. Investors are looking to incoming macroeconomic data, like the June Personal Consumption Expenditures index, to help guide interest rate forecasts.