[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks finished mostly lower after giving back much of their early strength, as the broader market followed semiconductor stocks lower into the close while rising Treasury yields and higher oil prices added to the afternoon selling pressure. The S&P 500 (-0.2%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.1%), and DJIA (-0.6%) finished lower across the board.

Semiconductor stocks still modestly outperformed, as investors stepped in following the group's recent retreat, which has been widely viewed as a technical correction despite its sharp magnitude. The PHLX Semiconductor Index (+0.6%) ceded the bulk of its early strength, but there were still several notable performances today. Lumentum (LITE 765.55, +32.73, +4.47%) and Teradyne (TER 333.76, +11.40, +3.54%) were among the top performers, while memory names such as Micron (MU 865.46, +16.51, +1.94%) benefited from Bloomberg reporting that Kimi K3, the latest model from Chinese startup Moonshot AI, requires substantial memory to operate.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 503.57, +7.81, +1.58%) also outperformed after Microsoft (MSFT 402.29, +8.47, +2.15%) said it will deploy AMD's Helios Rackscale Solution for frontier-model AI inference and expand its use of the company's EPYC processors and Pensando DPUs.

The information technology sector (+0.1%) finished with just a fraction of its earlier gain, facing pressure in several of its largest components including Apple (AAPL 326.59, -7.15, -2.14%) and Oracle (ORCL 121.37, -5.04, -3.99%). The Information reported Oracle is facing multibillion-dollar cost setbacks in the buildout of its data centers.

Meanwhile, Alphabet (GOOG 351.37, +5.25, +1.52%) was a "Magnificent Seven" standout ahead of its earnings release later this week after The Information reported the company aims to introduce a new "frozen" AI chip. The communication services sector (+0.7%) finished with the widest gain as a result.

The energy sector (+0.6%) rounded out the three S&P 500 sectors that notched a gain today. Oil prices were choppy amid a shifting geopolitical atmosphere, with WTI crude oil futures settling today's session $0.92 higher (+1.1%) at $82.59 per barrel. Earlier reports of potential U.S.-Iran negotiations involving intermediaries faded into the background this afternoon after President Trump vowed retaliation for the two American soldiers killed by an Iranian missile in Jordan over the weekend. Additionally, Yemen's Houthis declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, which could amplify the potential for a broader regional conflict.

The bump in oil prices and Treasury yields put pressure on the broader market, which steadily retreated from a mostly higher open this morning.

While the consumer discretionary sector (-0.4%) finished with a relatively modest loss due to a solid showing from Amazon (AMZN 249.99, +2.76, +1.12%), its weakness largely reflected the rise in Treasury yields today. Carvana (CVNA 64.18, -3.16, -4.69%), which is sensitive to borrowing costs, was the worst-performing S&P 500 component today, while weakness across homebuilder stocks sent the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF 2.0% lower.

Elsewhere, the health care sector (-1.2%) finished with the widest loss amid a weak showing from biotechnology names, while the industrials sector (-0.8%) faced pressure from Honeywell Aerospace (HONA 202.47, -9.16, -4.33%), which continues to slide following its spinoff from Honeywell (HON 226.18, +1.16, +0.52%) last month.

Outside the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 (-0.7%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (-0.8%) quickly ceded their opening gains to a lower finish as well.

Though stocks enjoyed a strong opening, it was largely all downhill from there. This morning's "buy-the-dip" bid across semiconductor stocks faded, as the early catalysts were stock-specific and not disruptive enough to change the current downtrend across the group. Rising oil prices and Treasury yields added pressure to the broader market, keeping it on tenuous footing ahead of a consequential week of earnings.

U.S. Treasuries started the week with a steady Monday retreat that drove yields on longer tenors back to last week's highs with this year's highs from May looming not far above. The 2-year note yield settled up four basis points to 4.21%, and the 10-year note yield settled up six basis points to 4.60%. 

• Russell 2000: +18.6% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: 13.3% YTD
• Nasdaq Composite: +9.8% YTD
• S&P 500: +8.7% YTD
• DJIA: +7.9% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• June Leading Economic Index -0.2% (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%); Prior 0.1%