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Equity Markets Mixed as Trump Aborts Plan to Attack Iran

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Equity Markets Mixed as Trump Aborts Plan to Attack Iran

US equity markets closed mixed Monday as President Donald Trump said the US was postponing a plan to attack Iran on Tuesday.

The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.5% to 26,090.7, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 49,686.1. The S&P 500 closed 0.1% lower at 7,403.1. Most sectors were in the green, led by energy, while technology saw the steepest decline.

Trump said the US will hold off on its planned military attack against Iran that was previously scheduled for Tuesday, according to his social media post on Monday.

Trump said Middle Eastern leaders, including Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, asked the US president to call off the attack amid "serious" ongoing negotiations to end the Washington-Tehran conflict.

Trump, however, cautioned that the US will "go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran" if a deal is not reached.

Brent crude fell 0.4% to $108.85 per barrel in Monday late-afternoon trade, while West Texas Intermediate crude was last up 0.9% at $106.34 per barrel.

Trump's latest rhetoric follows reports that Iran had provided an updated proposal for a deal to end the war. The White House indicated it doesn't reflect a meaningful improvement from a previous offer, Axios reported Monday, citing a senior US official and a source briefed on the matter.

The Strait of Hormuz -- the world's most important chokepoint for crude flows -- remains largely shut as tensions between the US and Iran continue, with no end in sight.

"Progress on US-Iran peace talks continues to be immaterial, with both parties expressing a willingness to resume overt hostilities if the talks fail," Tudor Pickering Holt Analyst Matt Portillo said in a note sent earlier in the day.

US Treasury yields were little changed in Monday late-afternoon trade, with the 10-year rate at 4.59% and the two-year rate at 4.07%.

Nvidia (NVDA) shares fell 1.3%, the second-worst performer on the Dow. The chipmaking giant is expected to exceed Wall Street's first-quarter estimates and guide above consensus amid positive data points, Wedbush Securities said.

Nvidia is scheduled to release its latest quarterly results after the markets close Wednesday.

Retail giants Walmart (WMT), Home Depot (HD), TJX (TJX), Lowe's (LOW) and Target (TGT) are also expected to report this week. Home Depot and Lowe's are likely to lower their full-year guidance as the home improvement retailers face pressure from weak consumer sentiment, Oppenheimer said in a note.

NextEra Energy (NEE) and Dominion Energy (D) agreed to merge in all-stock deal to create the largest regulated electric utility in the world. Dominion shares jumped 9.4%, the second-biggest gainer on the S&P 500, while NextEra fell 4.6%.

In economic news, US homebuilder confidence unexpectedly rose this month despite elevated mortgage rates, macro uncertainty and continued affordability challenges, data from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo showed.

"Soft homebuilder sentiment is consistent with our view that housing starts will mostly move sideways for the next couple of quarters before starting to edge up slightly around year-end, when we expect mortgage rates to be lower as the (Federal Reserve) implements the first of two rate cuts we expect," Oxford Economics said in a note.

Gold was up up 0.1% at $4,564.40 per troy ounce in Monday late-afternoon trade, while silver rose 0.3% to $77.80 per ounce.

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