USA: Wall Street Slides on AI and Middle East Concerns.

US stock indices closed lower on Monday amid weakness in chipmakers and a deteriorating macroeconomic backdrop. The S&P 500 fell 0.8%, the Nasdaq 100 lost 1.9%, and the Dow dropped 138 points. Chipmakers sank on persistent concerns that AI hyperscalers will be forced to scale back spending on AI infrastructure. SK Hynix ADRs fell 8.6% after surging 13% in their debut on Friday, as a Korean brokerage warned the company could miss its next earnings expectations. Nvidia shed 3.5%, Broadcom was down 4%, AMD retreated 4.2%, and Intel fell 6.1%, while memory producers Sandisk and Micron lost 12.6% and 4.3%, respectively. Stocks in other sectors also declined alongside US Treasuries after President Trump said the US would reinstate the blockade of Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating the conflict and raising the risk of energy-driven inflation. Major banks fell ahead of this week's earnings, with JPMorgan down 0.6%, Bank of America falling 0.3%, and Goldman Sachs losing 0.9%.