Stock futures rose Monday as oil prices fluctuated in response to the latest bout of military exchanges between the U.S. and Iran. Chipmakers also traded higher to give U.S. equity markets a boost. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.4%, while Nasdaq-100 futures traded 1% higher. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 83 points, or 0.2%. The U.S. completed its ninth consecutive day of strikes on Iran overnight, but investor sentiment improved by midmorning in London after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei lifted hopes for a diplomatic settlement. Baghaei told reporters that intermediaries had continued to exchange messages with Iran amid the latest round of U.S. strikes and said negotiations between the two adversaries could be pursued based on national interests. “Investors still don’t think Trump has the tolerance for a material escalation of the US force posture in the Middle East (i.e., deploying troops), and if that’s the case, then some type of a diplomatic resolution is inevitable,” wrote Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge. Giving U.S. stocks a bid were chipmakers, as they tried to recover some of their steep losses from last week. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) gained more than 2%. Micron Technology led the advance, climbing 4%. Astera Labs and Teradyne rose more than 3%, while Advanced Micro Devices also gained 4%. The three leading U.S. indexes closed in the red last week, as pressure on chip stocks weighed on sentiment. The S&P 500 dropped 1.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite sank 2.9%, and the 30-stock Dow lost 0.9%. Additionally, the SMH saw its third weekly decline in four weeks, losing nearly 9%. U.S. Treasury yields edged higher on Monday as Wall Street monitors the latest developments amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note — the key benchmark for U.S. government borrowing — rose over 1 basis point to 4.558%. The 2-year Treasury note yield, which more closely tracks short-term Federal Reserve interest rate policy, was broadly flat at 4.181%. The longer-dated 30-year Treasury bond yield rose over 1 basis point to 5.078%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 closed 1.5% higher at 4,598.32. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 2.1% in the last hour of trade on Monday. South Korea’s Kospi ended Monday’s session 4.5% lower at 6,516.27, while the small Kosdaq index declined 5.3% to 749.64. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ended flat at 8,791.30. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. Oil prices were mixed on Monday, paring gains after Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said negotiations with the U.S. could be pursued based on national interests. Speaking to reporters at a news conference, Baghaei said intermediaries had continued to exchange messages with Iran amid the latest round of U.S. strikes and American military casualties. International benchmark Brent crude for September delivery was last seen trading 0.4% higher at $88.47 per barrel, having surpassed $90 earlier in the session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery, meanwhile, dipped 0.2% at $82.36, also erasing gains. Gold prices ​were steady on Monday, ​as market participants weighed ​developments in the U.S.-Iran conflict and their implications for oil prices, while U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers hinted interest rate hikes may be needed to curb inflationary ⁠pressure. Spot ‌gold was little changed at $4,018.75 per ounce. U.S. gold futures for August delivery gained 0.1% to $4,023.20. “Gold remains negatively correlated to oil prices, with market participants closely tracking developments in the Middle East,” UBS analyst ‌Giovanni Staunovo said.