US benchmark equity indexes were mixed after midday Wednesday as traders continued to monitor US-Iran peace deal negotiations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4% at 50,646.7 intraday, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% to 26,611.6. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 7,509.8. Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 notched new record closing highs in the previous session.
Among sectors, consumer discretionary paced the gainers, while energy and financials saw the biggest drop.
Iranian state TV reportedly claimed that a draft memorandum on ending the three-month-old conflict calls for the US to withdraw its military forces and lift the blockade of Iranian ports in return for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz within a month. However, the White House dismissed it as a "complete fabrication," CNN reported.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday expressed confidence that the US would be able to reach a deal to end the conflict, but he is not yet satisfied with the terms, CNN reported.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 4.4% at $89.77 a barrel intraday Wednesday, while Brent fell 4.1% to $95.54.
US Treasury yields were mixed intraday Wednesday, with the 10-year rate down 1.1 basis points at 4.48% and the two-year rate little changed at 4.04%.
In company news, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said Wednesday at a conference that the bank's expenses this year could be "closer" to $106 billion, or $1 billion higher than previously projected. JPMorgan shares were down 3%.
Dimon also said that "there might be in the next couple of years a chance to put $10 billion or $20 billion to work buying something," referring to a potential merger and acquisition story, according to a FactSet transcript.
Zscaler (ZS) shares tanked nearly 32% intraday after the cloud security company provided a fiscal fourth-quarter revenue outlook below market estimates, even though it reported better-than-expected results for the prior three-month period.
PDD's (PDD) first-quarter earnings unexpectedly declined year over year, while the Chinese e-commerce platform's revenue fell short of market estimates. The stock slid nearly 12% intraday.
Abercrombie & Fitch's (ANF) fiscal first-quarter earnings topped Wall Street's projections amid record sales for the apparel retailer. The company's shares jumped nearly 12% intraday.
Marvell (MRVL), Salesforce (CRM), Synopsys (SNPS), Snowflake (SNOW) and HP (HPQ) were scheduled to release their quarterly results after the markets close Wednesday.
Gold was down 1.4% at $4,441 per troy ounce, while silver lost 2.2% $74.90 per ounce.
