Stock Market Today, July 13: Energy Stocks Cushion Dow as Tech Slides on Geopolitical Tensions

As of 11:45 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.79%) fell 0.39% to 7,546.18, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 1.55%) slid 0.92% to 26,039.24 on tech weakness, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.26%) dipped 0.21% to 52,528.23, somewhat cushioned by energy names.

Market movers

A sharp rise in oil prices aided energy-linked Dow components while semiconductor names stayed under pressure after steep declines in SK Hynix (SKHY 9.32%) and Samsung Electronics; pockets of resilience appeared in select large-cap tech like Apple (AAPL +0.74%) and biotech name Biogen (BIIB +4.96%) on upbeat analyst calls.

What this means for investors

Geopolitical strife continued to influence stocks as the U.S. and Iran traded words and military strikes. That led global equity markets to take a risk-off stance as oil prices rose about 5%. Tech names in Asia sank overnight, and that continued after U.S. markets opened.

South Korean semiconductor maker SK Hynix reversed course after its strong U.S. market debut on Friday. Samsung also sank even after reporting record profits with a 19-fold year-on-year jump late last week.

The U.S.-Iran conflict continues to take center stage, souring risk sentiment and driving investors toward energy names and away from tech growth stocks.

Earnings season begins tomorrow as major U.S. banks start to report Q2. Investors will be monitoring that closely, as company results will likely determine whether the first-half rally continues or stalls.