NEW YORK, New York - Uncertainty over President Donald Trump's ability to close a deal with Iran on the opening of the Strait of Hormuz kept U.S. stock buyers on the sidelines on Monday.

"Everyone has gotten tired of the back and forth," Zachary Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments, told CNBC Monday. "But each time we see some flare-up in Middle East tensions, it's of a smaller magnitude than what we saw prior, so I do think that's informing a little bit of what's going on so far today," he said.

On Wall Street, the Standard and Poor's 500 slipped 4.62 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 7,753.02, as a late-day fade erased earlier modest gains.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 60.83 points, a decline of 0.11 percent, settling at 53,976.10.

The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite underperformed its peers, dropping 85.26 points, or 0.32 percent, to finish the session at 26,605.36, weighed down by weakness in megacap technology names.

Trading volumes were relatively subdued, with 2.588 billion shares changing hands on the S&P 500, 399.83 million on the Dow, and 6.646 billion on the Nasdaq.

Dollar Dominates as Most Currencies Slide; Pound Stands Alone With Gain, Loonie Flat

The U.S. dollar flexed its muscles on Monday, climbing against nearly every major counterpart in a broad-based rally, with only the British pound managing to eke out a gain against the greenback. The Canadian dollar, meanwhile, ended the session dead even, unchanged on the day.

The euro weakened against the dollar, with the EUR-USD pair slipping to 1.1543, a decline of 0.14 percent, as investors favoured the safety of the U.S. currency amid cautious global sentiment.

The Japanese yen suffered the steepest losses among the majors, with the USD-JPY pair surging to 159.3000, marking a sharp increase of 0.98 percent, as the dollar strengthened aggressively against the low-yielding yen.

The British pound proved to be the sole outlier, defying the broader trend. The GBP-USD pair edged up to 1.3508, registering a modest gain of 0.13 percent, supported by resilient U.K. economic data that offered some insulation from the dollar's strength.

Commodity-linked currencies also fell prey to the dollar's advance. The Australian dollar retreated, with the AUD-USD pair dropping to 0.7057, a loss of 0.14 percent. The Swiss franc, traditionally a safe-haven play, was not spared either; the USD-CHF pair climbed to 0.8101, up 0.27 percent, as the dollar outperformed even its rival refuge currency.

The Canadian dollar held its ground against the resurgent greenback, with the USD-CAD pair remaining fixed at 1.3939, unchanged on the session with a flat 0.00 percent movement, as oil price stability offered support to the loonie.

World Markets Close Mixed as Tech Surge Lifts Asia, Canadian, European Gains Capped by Cautious Trading

Global stock markets delivered a mixed performance on Monday, with Asian bourses surging on tech optimism while European indexes struggled for momentum, closing narrowly mixed amid a quiet start to the trading week.

Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index provided a bright spot, rising 77.10 points, or 0.21 percent, to end the day at 36,458.33, supported by strength in energy and financial stocks. Volume on the TSX reached 298.743 million shares.

In Europe, the pan-continental EURO STOXX 50 Index managed a modest gain, rising 11.76 points, or 0.18 percent, to settle at 6,535.62.

The CAC 40 in Paris also edged higher, adding 11.10 points for a 0.13 percent advance to close at 8,726.03.

Germany's DAX barely moved, posting a fractional gain of just 4.43 points, equivalent to 0.02 percent, finishing the session at 26,323.88. The broader Euronext 100 Index climbed 3.74 points, a 0.19 percent increase, to end at 1,972.84.

However, London's FTSE 100 bucked the European trend, retreating by 38.59 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 10,862.50, weighed down by declines in energy and mining shares. Elsewhere on the continent, Belgium's BEL 20 slipped 9.93 points, a loss of 0.17 percent, finishing at 5,767.78.

Asian markets were the standout performers, led by a technology-fueled rally in Japan. The Nikkei 225 skyrocketed by 1,363.51 points, a surge of 2.08 percent, to close at a historic 66,970.22.

Taiwan's TWSE Capitalization Weighted Stock Index also saw explosive growth, jumping 702.85 points, or 1.59 percent, to finish at 44,928.76. In Hong Kong, the HANG SENG INDEX advanced 269.46 points, gaining 1.05 percent to end at 25,937.49, while Singapore's STI Index added 59.44 points, also a 1.05 percent rise, settling at 5,698.43.

In South Korea, the KOSPI Composite Index closed at 6,299.66, up 40.89 points or 0.65 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index (SSE Composite Index) rose by 26.56 points, a 0.67 percent increase, to 3,966.59, on robust trading volume.

Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific on Monday, New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 64.11 points (0.46 percent) to 13,888.24. However, Australian benchmarks lost ground, with the S&P/ASX 200 falling 31.00 points, or 0.33 percent, to 9,232.60, and the broader ALL ORDINARIES dropping 21.00 points, a decline of 0.22 percent, to finish at 9,424.10.

In emerging markets, India's S&P BSE SENSEX eked out a gain of 43.27 points, a marginal 0.06 percent increase, to close at 78,542.44. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the IDX COMPOSITE fell 44.28 points, or 0.69 percent, to 6,365.37, and Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dipped 0.38 points, a negligible 0.02 percent, to 1,735.37.

Middle Eastern and African markets were under pressure. In Israel, the TA-125 declined 26.68 points, or 0.66 percent, to 4,038.92, while Egypt's EGX 30 Price Return Index lost 249.40 points, falling 0.45 percent to 54,876.00 on turnover of 384.335 million shares.

In a notable outlier, South Africa's Top 40 USD Net TRI Index posted a sharp rally, soaring 222.31 points, a massive 3.15 percent gain, to close at 7,284.32.

(This report incorporates quotes retrieved with the assistance of artificial intelligence).

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