By midday on Monday, July 28, US stocks were mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average's gains narrowing while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 turned negative. Oil prices declined following a weekend halt in hostilities between the US and Iran. Traders are also looking ahead to a busy week of events, including major tech earnings and a potentially surprising Federal Reserve meeting.

The Dow rose 92.08 points, or 0.18%, to 52,039.33 points; the Nasdaq fell 100.02 points, or 0.40%, to 24,875.81 points; and the S&P 500 dropped 13.12 points, or 0.18%, to 7,398.86 points.

A cooling of Middle East tensions pushed oil prices lower. Early Monday, Brent crude oil futures for September delivery fell 7.7% to around $89.41 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures dropped over 6.3% to $83.21 per barrel. However, geopolitical tensions elsewhere escalated, with Ukraine attacking an Iranian merchant ship in the Caspian Sea, prompting Tehran to accuse Kyiv of "hostile and criminal acts."

In the coming week, major stock indices face numerous challenges. Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft are set to release quarterly earnings, following Alphabet's disappointing report last week. These results will either ease or intensify investor concerns about the frenzy of AI spending.

Earnings outcomes could directly impact semiconductor companies, which are key beneficiaries of the AI spending boom. "The biggest risk is the sustainability of spending," said Ken Mahoney, CEO of Mahoney Asset Management. "The problem is, if they listen to shareholders and slightly reduce or slow the growth of this spending, the rest of the market won't like it either."

"So it's a bit of a seesaw effect," he added.

The Federal Reserve will announce its latest interest rate decision on Wednesday. Market expectations are for a rate hike in September, but according to the CME FedWatch Tool, market pricing shows a higher probability of a 25-basis-point increase in the benchmark borrowing rate as early as this week.

US stocks had just experienced another losing week, with chip stock corrections and uncertainty over the war with Iran weighing on investors. Last Friday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 0.6% and 2.1%, respectively, marking two consecutive weekly declines. The Dow Jones fell 0.4%, its third consecutive weekly drop.

On the economic data front Monday, US durable goods orders for June rose 0.3% month-over-month, compared to an estimate of 1.8%. The forecast range from 43 economists was -0.7% to 5.7%. New orders excluding transportation increased 0.6% in June, following a 1.8% rise in May. New orders excluding defense goods rose 0.3% in June, after a 4.3% decline in May. Excluding aircraft and defense goods, core capital goods orders rose 0.9% in June, versus a 1.9% increase in May. Core capital goods shipments, excluding aircraft and defense, rose 1.9% in June, compared to a 0.2% increase in May.