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US Equity Markets Mixed as Investors Weigh Trump's Comments on Ending Iran War Soon

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US equity indexes were mixed on Wednesday as investors weighed President Trump's comments on ending the Iran war soon.

* Trump said the war with Iran was close to over, telling the world to brace for an "amazing two days."

* The New York Federal Reserve's Empire State manufacturing index rose to 11 in April from minus 0.2 in March, above the expectations for a flat print in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

* The National Association of Home Builders' monthly housing market index fell to 34 in April from a revised 38 in March, compared with expectations for 37 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

* May West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $0.33 to settle at $90.95 per barrel, while June Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $0.03 at $94.76.

* Tesla (TSLA) shares were up about 7.6% after CEO Elon Musk said on X the company has completed the tape-out of its AI5 chip and is advancing development of AI6 and Dojo3. Tape-out marks the final design stage before a chip is sent to manufacturing.

* Lennox International (LII) shares were down nearly 6.9% after BNP Paribas initiated coverage for the stock at neutral with a $535 price target.

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