-- US equity indexes rose this week as a time-bound reopening of the Strait of Hormuz followed a truce between Israel and Lebanon, marking a breakthrough in Middle East diplomacy and boosting the probability of an Iran peace deal.
* The S&P 500 closed at 7,126.06 on Friday versus 6,816.89 a week ago. The Nasdaq Composite stood at about 24,468.48, compared with 22,902.89 a week earlier, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 49,447.43, versus 47,916.57 at the end of last week.
* Technology, consumer cyclicals, and communication services topped sector charts as geopolitical risk fell and Q1 earnings season began in earnest with financials first to report. Energy was the worst performer as expectations for the Iran deal increased.
* President Donald Trump said Thursday that Lebanon and Israel have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire.
* "In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran," Iran's foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.
* Trump said Friday the US naval blockade will continue until the Iran deal is "100% complete," CNN reported.
* Bloomberg reported Friday that Trump said Iran agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely and will not receive any frozen funds from the US. Trump said in a phone interview that a deal to end the war is mostly complete, according to the report. Talks over a lasting agreement will "probably" be held this weekend, the president was cited as saying. The US-Iran ceasefire ends next week, implying an extension to the truce may not be required.
* Morgan Stanley (MS), Citigroup (C), and Bank of America (BAC) were among the biggest gainers in financial services firms with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion, after mega-cap banks kicked off the Q1 earnings season.