18 dead after ferry sinks off Basilan province in southern Philippines

At least 18 bodies were recovered, and 24 people remained missing after an inter-island ferry sank early Monday morning in waters off Basilan province in the southern Philippines, authorities said.

There were 332 passengers and 27 crew members onboard when the accident happened, according to the Chief Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

"The search and rescue operation is ongoing, but what I can say is that the ship is not overloaded. It has a maximum passenger capacity of 350, and the actual passengers on board, as declared by the master, are 332. The Coast Guard has immediately acted on it as soon as it received, or we've received, the distress call from the Sea Marshal on board. It has two Coast Guard personnel on board acting as Sea Marshals," Gavan told reporters in Manila.

"There are initial reports, but the details are not yet final," he said.

Gavan said the cause of the sinking was still under investigation.

The PCG Commander Romel Dua of the Southern Mindanao District told reporters that 317 people were rescued.

The PCG said the M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 was en route to Jolo Island in Sulu province from Zamboanga City when it sank before 2:00 local time on Monday off the Balukbaluk Island in Hadji Muhtamad, a municipality in the Sulu Sea.

18 dead after ferry sinks off Basilan province in southern Philippines

18 dead after ferry sinks off Basilan province in southern Philippines

18 dead after ferry sinks off Basilan province in southern Philippines

18 dead after ferry sinks off Basilan province in southern Philippines

U.S. stocks closed mixed on Monday as a sharp sell-off in semiconductor equities dragged down the technology sector, while investors digested new U.S. economic sanctions announced against Iran and fresh trade tariff warnings targeting Canada.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 140.15 points, or 0.26 percent, to 53,417.16. The S and P 500 sank 21.51 points, or 0.28 percent, to 7,652.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 200.264 points, or 0.77 percent, to 25,980.19.

Eight of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors ended in the green, with consumer staples and financials leading the gainers by going up 1.76 percent and 1.24 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, technology and energy led the laggards by losing 1.59 percent and 0.76 percent, respectively.

The tech sector's pullback stemmed from broad weakness across chipmakers. Memory and semiconductor shares came under heavy pressure following weekend reports that graphics processor leader Nvidia plans to implement price hikes across select AI server configurations. SanDisk, Western Digital, SK Hynix, Micron Technology and Seagate Technology all finished lower.

Geopolitical developments dominated macroeconomic headlines as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday threatened Iran with "an economic D-Day," announcing a wave of new sanctions aimed at further isolating the country.

On the trade front, U.S. President Donald Trump escalated trade frictions with Canada, announcing intentions to raise tariffs on Canadian cars, automotive parts and steel to 50 percent effective Jan. 1, 2027. The announcement weighed on domestic automotive equities, pulling shares of General Motors and Ford lower.

In corporate earnings disclosures, U.S.-listed shares of Chinese e-commerce firm PDD and electric vehicle maker XPeng declined 1.48 percent and 8.53 percent, respectively, following their latest quarterly financial reports.

Market attention is now converging on two critical catalysts later this week: Nvidia's highly anticipated second-quarter earnings release on Wednesday, expected to serve as a vital referendum on the ongoing AI investment cycle, and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's scheduled address at the central bank's annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.

U.S. stocks close mixed as chip stocks sink