03:25 PM EDT, 07/20/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with index/price moves and geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)

US equity indexes traded mixed as the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 relinquished the bulk of intraday gains, while crude oil prices turned higher amid threats to Saudi Arabian crude oil supplies.

The Nasdaq edged up 0.1% to 25,543.1 ahead of Monday's close, giving up most of its intraday gains. The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% to 7,451.2 after trading higher earlier in the session. The price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is home to old-economy sectors, fell 0.6% to 51,856.5 and traded close to session lows.

Consumer staples, utilities, and materials led decliners. Energy, communication services, and technology were the trio of gainers, albeit the latter two peer groups gave up most of the intraday gains.

Iran said mediators have been in touch with proposals on how to ease hostilities with the US after nine days of clashes, while tensions remained high after a threat by the Tehran-backed Houthi group against Saudi Arabia, Bloomberg reported. Esmail Baghaei, the Islamic Republic's foreign ministry spokesman, said "ideas from some mediators have been conveyed" to Tehran, without giving further details, according to the news report.

Houthis in Yemen said Monday they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported. The full closure of the Bab el-Mandeb strait would reduce global oil supply by 7% as it would leave most of Saudi oil exports unable to leave the region, the news report said. The disruption would add to the reduction in oil flows from the war, which has already cut shipments by 10% of global supply, it added.

The front-month US West Texas Intermediate rose 0.6% to $83.01 a barrel, while global benchmark North Sea Brent climbed 1.2% to $89.18 a barrel, after both crude types traded lower earlier in the session.

Most US Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year advancing 5.9 basis points to 4.6%. The two-year jumped 5.5 basis points to 4.22%.