United States equity markets ended mixed on Monday (Tuesday AEST), with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite notching fresh record highs, as rising oil prices and stalled Iran peace talks tempered broader gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 62.7 points, or 0.1%, to 49,168.0, the S&P 500 rose 8.9 points or 0.1%, to 7,173.9, while the Nasdaq Composite added 50.5 points, or 0.2%, to 24,887.1.
Investor sentiment was constrained by renewed geopolitical uncertainty after negotiations between the United States and Iran showed little progress. President Donald Trump on Saturday scrapped plans to send U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for ceasefire talks, signalling a shift towards remote negotiations.
“Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work!” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards; they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”
Later in the session, attention turned to reports that Trump and his national security team had discussed a new Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, contingent on the U.S. lifting its blockade and bringing the conflict to an end.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the discussions were underway.
“I will confirm the president has met with his national security team this morning,” Leavitt said at a press briefing Monday afternoon.
“The meeting may be ongoing,” Leavitt said around 1:23 pm ET (5:23 pm GMT), “but the proposal was being discussed.”
According to earlier reports from Axios, the proposal would delay negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme to a later stage.
However, uncertainty remains over whether Trump, who has insisted the blockade will remain until a deal is “100% complete”, will consider the offer.
Oil markets reacted sharply to the ongoing impasse. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 2.1% to settle at US$96.37 per barrel, while Brent crude climbed 2.8% to $108.23 per barrel.
Meanwhile, corporate earnings season gathered pace, with several major technology firms set to report results this week.
Five of the so-called Magnificent Seven: Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Apple, and Microsoft, are due to release quarterly updates, placing a spotlight on whether heavy investments in artificial intelligence are beginning to deliver returns.
Market participants are also closely watching the Federal Reserve, which is scheduled to begin its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).
The central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but investors will scrutinise its statement and Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference for insights into the economic outlook and the inflationary implications of rising energy costs linked to the ongoing conflict.
Among individual stocks, Verizon gained 1.5% after raising its annual forecast on stronger-than-expected subscriber growth.
Domino’s Pizza fell 8.8% after missing first-quarter sales estimates, weighing on the consumer discretionary sector.
Nvidia surged 4.0%, extending its previous session’s 4.3% advance, as the chipmaker regained a market valuation above $5 trillion.
On the bond markets, Treasury yields moved higher, with the 10-year yield rising 0.8% to 4.34% and the 2-year yield climbing 0.4% to 3.799%.
