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Equities Mixed Intraday, Oil Rises Amid Stalled US-Iran Talks

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US benchmark equity indexes were mixed intraday, while oil prices rose as investors wavered after peace talks between Washington and Tehran apparently stalled.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1% at 49,161.3 after midday Monday, while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1% to 24,856.1. The S&P 500 gained 0.1% to 7,169.8. Among sectors, consumer staples saw the biggest drop, while communication services paced the gainers.

Brent crude was up 3.2% at $108.73 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.4% to $96.63.

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi visited Pakistan twice over the weekend, while President Donald Trump called off US officials' previously announced trip to Islamabad.

Iran has submitted a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz that includes delaying nuclear negotiations, Axios reported, citing a US official and two other sources.

"Brent crude trades at a three-week high as efforts to revive peace talks have stalled, with an Iranian proposal reportedly calling for nuclear negotiations to be postponed to a later stage," Saxo Bank said in a report.

The strait, the world's most important chokepoint for crude flows, remains at a near-complete halt, with Iran and the US imposing their respective blockades of maritime traffic, Bloomberg News reported Sunday.

Trump was scheduled to meet with top national security officials on Monday to discuss the new Iranian proposal, CNN reported.

"Oil is trading stronger this morning after attempts to get US-Iran peace talks back on track broke down, erasing hopes for a resumption of energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz anytime soon," ING Bank said in a note on Monday. "The lack of progress means the market is tightening every day, requiring oil prices to reprice at higher levels."

US Treasury yields were higher intraday, with the 10-year rate up 3.8 basis points at 4.35% and the two-year rate rising 2.7 basis points to 3.82%.

In company news, Verizon Communications (VZ) lifted its full-year earnings outlook on Monday and reported a first-quarter bottom line above market estimates, while the telecommunications giant unexpectedly added postpaid phone subscribers in the three-month period. The company's shares were up 2.6% intraday, the biggest gain on the Dow.

Shares of Domino's Pizza (DPZ) were down 9.5%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500. The company reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter results on Monday, with the company's chief executive saying consumer uncertainty and inflation weighed on demand late in the quarter.

Organon (OGN) shares surged 17% after the healthcare company agreed to be acquired by Indian pharmaceutical firm Sun Pharmaceutical Industries in an all-cash deal with an enterprise value of about $11.75 billion.

Technology giants Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META) are slated to release their latest financial results later this week.

Gold was down 1.1% at $4,688.80 per troy ounce, while silver shed 1.6% to $75.20 per ounce.

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