Update: Equities Mixed, Oil Drops as US-Iran Talks Move Forward

(Updates with market moves at the end of the day.)

US benchmark equity indexes closed mixed Monday, and oil prices fell as markets evaluated the impact of the latest talks between Washington and Iran.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.3% to 26,166.6, and the S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 7,472.8. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 51,712.7.

Among sectors, communication services posted the biggest drop, while real estate paced the gainers.

Brent crude oil fell 2.9% to $78.20 a barrel in late-afternoon trade, while West Texas Intermediate dropped 2.2% to $74.20.

Iran has agreed to admit International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors into the country, news outlets reported, citing US Vice President JD Vance.

"That is a major milestone for the American people, and the first step in permanently denuclearizing or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran, and that's exactly what we wanted to do," Vance reportedly said.

"Everybody is fully aware that Iran will agree to have major weapons inspections in order to ensure 'nuclear honesty' long into the future," US President Donald Trump said in a social media post.

On the status of the Strait of Hormuz, Vance said the crucial waterway is open, and negotiations with Iran are focused on setting up a "coordination mechanism" for demining and resuming trade, CNN reported.

"Recent developments show that moving towards a more permanent deal will be challenging, with very real risks of a flare-up in hostilities during the 60-day ceasefire," ING Bank said in a report. "For energy markets, the key factor is still whether oil and LNG flows from the Persian Gulf continue to recover, despite all the rhetoric."

US Treasury yields rose in late-afternoon trading, with the two-year rate last seen up 5.1 basis points at 4.23% and the 10-year rate gaining 5.8 basis points to 4.51%.

In company news, Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares jumped 16%, the top performer on the S&P 500. The AI-server maker is launching a high-performance computing data center offering based on Nvidia's (NVDA) Vera Rubin NVL4 platform.

Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX) fell 16%. The company agreed to grant Reflection AI access to its computing infrastructure for up to $6.3 billion, CNBC reported.

Separately, SpaceX launched its first offering of senior unsecured notes to repay outstanding bridge loan debt and cover general corporate expenses.

Micron Technology (MU) shares rose 6.8%. The company signed an agreement with Anthropic that includes memory and storage supply, while the semiconductor manufacturer announced an investment in the AI chatbot Claude maker.

Gold fell 0.9% to $4,206.80 per troy ounce, while silver dropped 1.4% to $65.89 per ounce.

China Keeps Benchmark Lending Rates Unchanged for 13th Straight Month

China kept its benchmark rates unchanged for the 13th straight month in June as expected, reflecting caution over uncertainty surrounding the Middle East conflict and mixed domestic economic data.The one-year loan prime rate or LPR stayed at 3% and the five-year LPR was unmoved at 3.5%, according to the People's Bank of China on Monday.The figures are aligned with the no-change forecast given by 30 market participants surveyed by Reuters.Both rates have been kept unchanged since June 2025.The decision reflects caution as Middle East tension remains. The U.S. and Iran are still negotiating for a peace treaty that could end their war. A joint statement from mediating countries Qatar and Pakistan said the parties agreed to a roadmap towards reaching a final deal in 60 days.Analysts from ANZ predicted that the rates will remain, but fiscal spending might pick up as the global oil shock gradually wanes."We also maintain our view of no rate cut this year, while seeing scope for targeted supportfrom the People's Bank of China," ANZ economists Vicky Xiao Zhou, Zhaopeng Xing and Raymond Yeung said in a May 16 note.Domestically, China's economic data in May was mixed. Weak demand brought down retail sales and fixed asset investment last week, but industrial production grew stronger than expected due to external demand.Official data showed that retail sales slipped 0.6% from a year earlier, while fixed asset investment fell 4.1% year on year.Meanwhile, industrial production rose 4.5% year on year."The lack of investment appetite is one of the factors impacting markets, translating into low borrowing demand and, consequently, banks parking more funds in government bonds," Lynn Song, ING's chief economist for Greater China, said in a June 16 note. "Policymakers have expressed an intention to stabilize investment this year. It looks like they have their work cut out."

Shanghai Composite^SZSE

Malaysia Trade Balance Grows in May as Exports Reach Record High

Malaysia's trade balance expanded in May on record-high exports, according to data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia released Friday.The country's trade surplus grew to 40.4 billion ringgit during the month, up from 29.2 billion ringgit in the previous month. It also beat the consensus estimate of 23.2 billion ringgit tracked by Investing.com.Exports surged 45.3% to 184 billion ringgit in May, faster than the 16.4% rise in April to 183.3 billion ringgit.Domestic exports jumping 42% to 143.1 billion ringgit, or 77.8% of total exports, while re-exports grew 58.4% to 40.9 billion ringgit, comprising 22.2% of total exports.By commodity, exports of electrical and electronic items worth 37.9 billion ringgit, other items worth 10.3 billion ringgit, petroleum products worth 6 billion ringgit, and liquefied natural gas, among others, helped prop up outward shipments, Chief Statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said.By destination, exports to the U.S. were the highest at 18.3 billion ringgit, while shipments southward to Singapore reached 7.4 billion ringgit, and toward Hong Kong at 6.8 billion ringgit.Import performance improved 14.1% to 143.6 billion ringgit.Imports by end use increased year over year, with an increase in intermediate goods of 14.4% to 74.5 billion ringgit.Capital goods imports slid 18.3% to 18.5 billion ringgit, and consumption items slipped 2.7% to 9.8 billion ringgit.Total trade jumped 29.8% year over year to 327.6 billion ringgit, slower than the 337.3 billion ringgit seen in April.

FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI

Weather, Promos Drive UK Retail Sales Beat in May

UK retail sales beat consensus estimates in May, fueled by warm weather and promotions, according to data from the Office for National Statistics published Friday.Britain's retail sector saw its monthly sales grow 1.2%, above an expected 0.5% gain and following a revised 1% slump a month ago. Retail sales were up 3.2% annually, compared with the previous month's revised 0.1% uptick and the 1.9% increase expected by the market.UK retail sales volumes ticked up 0.4% in the three months to May compared with the three months ending in February, and rose 1.4% against the same three-month period a year ago.Excluding fuel, core UK retail sales increased by 1.2% month-on-month and 4.6% on an annual basis, surpassing market forecasts of 0.4% and 3.3% growth, respectively. The performance also represents an increase from April's data, which showed a revised 0.1% monthly contraction and a 1.1% annual gain."Feedback from retailers suggested the hot weather in May helped sales of items such as fans and paddling pools," ONS senior statistician Jon Gough said. "Computers and telecom stores continued to do well following product launches in March, while online retailers also performed strongly, with feedback suggesting that this was helped by promotions. These were only slightly offset by a small fall in food sales."The ONS also noted that department stores' sales volumes climbed 2.7%, driven by "strong" monthly gains in May 2026. The figure marked the biggest three-month growth since September 2024.

FTSE 100

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