Pressures on the White House to resolve the U.S./Israel/Iran conflict intensified. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that President Trump might delay his visit to China.
Bessent claimed that the President needs to put his attention on the Iran conflict. He said the potentially cancelled summit is not related to trade or shipping disputes.
Stock markets are not trading on much expectation related to the U.S. and China trade war. Bank stocks like Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (C) gained 2.23% and 1.57%, respectively, on Monday. But banks, credit card, and asset manager stocks have been trading sharply lower in the last six months. They are pricing in the increased risks of a credit crunch.
Insurance and credit firms did not expect Iran to retaliate. Markets failed to price in the impact of Iran shutting down shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Energy and fertilizer stocks are benefiting the most from the shipping delays. CF Industries (CF) traded as high as $137.44 before settling at $122.33. LyondellBasell (LYB) traded above $70 for the first time in over a year. Energy investors picked up shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM), which closed at $157.23.
Technology investors bought more Micron (MU), Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), and Broadcom (AVGO) stock. They are rising after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang predicted that GPU chip sales would top $1 trillion through the end of 2027.
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