S&P futures exhibited an upward trajectory early Monday following a week in which all three major averages experienced declines. This shift in investor sentiment comes in the context of heightened tensions in the Middle East. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.24%, while Nasdaq-100 futures traded 0.37% higher. Futures associated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 75 points, reflecting a rise of 0.14%. European stocks experienced a slight uptick, recovering from previous declines, as the Stoxx 600 increased by 0.12%. In London, the U.K. FTSE 100 experienced a decline of 0.30%. Conversely, Germany’s DAX recorded an increase of 0.29% in Frankfurt, and the French CAC 40 rose by 0.32% in Paris. In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi concluded the day down by 4.5%, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell by 5.3%. Australia’s benchmark index concluded the trading session with little change. Mainland China’s CSI 300 concluded the trading session with a 1.5% increase. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

The three leading U.S. indexes closed in the red last week, as pressure on chip stocks weighed on sentiment. The S&P 500 experienced a decline of 1.6%, the Nasdaq Composite fell by 2.9%, and the 30-stock Dow recorded a loss of 0.9%. Additionally, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF experienced its third weekly decline in four weeks, losing nearly 9%. Jonathan Krinsky believes there may be even more declines in store for semiconductors from here. “They could certainly bounce here in the short term, but we don’t see signs of kind of that real big washout that you’re looking for,” he told. “It’s probably too soon if you just think about two weeks ago, really, we had record volumes on the upside for names like Micron and the like, so I think it’s probably premature to look for a bottom there.”

Traders maintained vigilance regarding the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, as tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated over the weekend. The U.S. military initiated a ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Sunday, prolonging a campaign designed to dismantle Tehran’s capacity to target commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The escalation in hostilities placed increasing strain on the fragile truce between the two countries. The U.S. Central Command reported that a third service member has lost their life amid the recent hostilities. American forces also “found unidentified remains” near the site of an Iranian attack in Jordan on July 17 that resulted in two fatalities, according to Centcom. The United States is engaged in efforts to ascertain the identity of the remains.

Oil futures relinquished a portion of their initial gains. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were last observed at a decline of 0.53%, trading at $82.05 per barrel, whereas international benchmark Brent crude futures remained near the flatline at $88.09 per barrel. Market participants are closely monitoring the forthcoming release of earnings reports scheduled for this week. “Magnificent Seven” members Alphabet and Tesla are among those to report, doing so after the bell on Wednesday. Intel, having experienced a 13% decline last week due to the reduction in chip prices, is scheduled to announce its results on Thursday.