Wall Street Gains As Crude Tumbles, Small Caps Soar, Bitcoin Tops $68,000: What's Driving Markets Monday?

Investor sentiment turned optimistic towards risk assets early this week as plummeting oil prices, driven by Israel's decision not to target Iran's crude facilities during weekend attacks, eased concerns over an escalated Middle Eastern conflict and potential global economic disruptions.

The S&P 500 gained 0.3%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 mirrored this performance and the Dow added 0.6%.

Economically sensitive small-cap stocks saw stronger gains, with the Russell 2000 soaring 1.5% after a stretch of losses in six of the last seven sessions.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, tracked by the United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO), dropped over 5% in midday New York trading, heading for its sharpest one-day decline since July 2022. Natural gas prices also plunged, with Henry Hub prices falling more than 9%, poised for their steepest single-session loss since mid-January.

U.S. energy stocks weakened, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) standing as the sole sector in ...