By Johann M Cherian and Ragini Mathur
July 27 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were mixed on Monday as investors remained wary of volatility in the Middle East despite a U.S.-Iran de-escalation, while awaiting guidance from major technology companies in what could prove to be a "make-or-break" week.
Four of Wall Street's "Magnificent Seven" companies Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Apple are set to report earnings later in the week, which will determine if the years-long AI rally has further room
to run.
Microsoft added 2.3%, Apple and Meta were up about 1%, while Amazon was flat.
"This is a make-or-break week for technology," said Christian Fromhertz, CEO at The Tribeca Trade Group.
"I'm more worried about this week than anything else because if Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon don't start telling investors when they're going to be making money on all of this CapEx, then there's a problem."
U.S. stocks ended a rough week on Friday after negative cash-flow reports from Alphabet and Tesla added to concerns about debt-fueled corporate spending.
Chinese chipmaker CXMT Corp's stellar debut on Monday and a report that the country has started manufacturing homegrown DUV chipmaking tools also signaled intensifying competition for the U.S. semiconductor industry.
Tech stocks declined the most on the S&P 500, slipping 1.4%, with chip stocks leading the slide. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index dropped 4% and was about 22% below its June record high. Sandisk tanked 11%, Nvidia dropped 4.4% and Micron lost 4.7%.
On the flipside, communication services rose 2.3% as Alphabet rebounded 3%.
At 12:42 p.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 197.41 points, or 0.38%, to 52,144.66, the S&P 500 lost 1.86 points, or 0.03%, to 7,410.12 and the Nasdaq Composite shed 50.91 points, or 0.20%, to 24,924.91.
MIDEAST TRUCE SHAKY
Brent crude prices slid 7.4% to $89.63 a barrel on relief that the recent spike in tensions between Iran and the U.S. was temporarily on hold.
However, the ceasefire was fragile as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained low and Iran's neighbors continued to face fresh drone attacks, prompting a warning from President Donald Trump that he is ready for "strong military action" if talks fail, a report said.
A wide swathe of stocks sensitive to energy prices gained. United Airlines and Delta Air Lines edged up about 1% each, as did cruise operators Royal Caribbean and Carnival.
Oil companies Occidental Petroleum and Exxon Mobil were down about 2% and 1.2%, respectively.
The Fed's monetary policy decision is due on Wednesday and investors expect rates to be left unchanged, but are pricing in at least 25 basis points of increase later this year, LSEG-compiled data showed.
The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index for June is due a day after the central bank's decision and will be key in shaping market expectations for interest rates later this year.
Software stocks, which had been hit several times earlier this year on AI-disruption worries, gained 2.8% with Workday up 8.9%.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.66-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.63-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Joyjeet Das)
