Wall Street opened the new trading week on a cautious note Monday, with all three major indexes finishing in the red as fresh trade-policy anxiety weighed on sentiment. The S&P 500 shed roughly three-quarters of a percent, the Dow dropped about 250 points, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq led losses, falling just over 1%. Volume was moderate, suggesting investors are staying selective rather than fleeing outright.
The main culprit was a weekend report indicating the White House is weighing tighter semiconductor export controls targeting China, which hit chip and AI-adjacent names hard. Nvidia was the most visible casualty among large-caps, tumbling nearly 4% and dragging the broader technology sector lower. AMD and Broadcom also pulled back in sympathy, adding pressure to the Nasdaq.
On the bright side, healthcare staged a quiet outperformance. Eli Lilly was the standout gainer of the session, rallying more than 3% after the company released encouraging late-stage clinical data for an oral GLP-1 candidate. The news reignited enthusiasm around the obesity-drug space and gave the sector a defensive buffer against the broader risk-off tone.
Gold held near multi-month highs above $3,280, underscoring that investors remain willing to pay up for safe-haven assets. The VIX ticked higher toward 22, a reminder that the market's worry gauge hasn't fully settled down. Oil was largely flat around $74.80, as OPEC+ supply dynamics offset demand uncertainty.