Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Chipmakers Hit Technology, Bessent Unveils Plans to Choke Iran

03:58 PM EDT, 08/24/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with index/price moves and geopolitical news from the first paragraph.) US equity indexes traded mixed as mega-cap semiconductor names pushed technology to the bottom of sector charts and crude oil declined after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled a plan to sever Iran's economic lifelines. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7% to 25,999.1, and the S&P 500 declined 0.3% to 7,653.3 ahead of Monday's close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the intraday trend, rising 0.3% to 53,434.5. Among companies with market capitalizations exceeding $200 billion each, nine of the bottom 10 names by intraday returns were in the technology sector, according to data compiled by Finviz. Of those nine firms, seven were related to the semiconductor industry. Sandisk (SNDK) led the pack of tech decliners, down 7%. Bessent unveiled what he described as an "unprecedented" Washington campaign to sever Tehran from the global economy, warning that any state doing business with the country risks facing US sanctions. "... we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran's financial connections around the globe. Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone," Secretary Bessent said Monday. Bessent said the campaign targets five sectors that Treasury identified as vital to Iran's economy: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping. Iran has condemned US plans to announce new sanctions and vowed to retaliate against any country that supports Washington, as President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for a diplomatic solution. The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract retreated 2.1% to $85.25 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent slumped 2.2% to $92.30 per barrel. Nvidia (NVDA) customers are facing price increases of over 15% on servers equipped with its artificial intelligence chips due to rising memory costs, Bloomberg reported Saturday. Separately, Nvidia is discussing an investment in Perplexity as part of a funding round that would value the AI startup at more than $30 billion, The Information reported Sunday. Nvidia declined 3%, the Dow's worst performer.