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US Equity Markets Rise Amid Optimism Around Resumption of US-Iran Peace Talks, Lower Crude Oil Prices

-- US equity indexes closed higher on Tuesday as optimism over the resumption of US-Iran peace talks sent crude oil prices lower.

* Talks to end the Iran war could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday

* The US Producer Price Index rose by 0.5% in March, the same as in February and below the 1.1% gain expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

* May West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $7.37 to settle at $91.71 per barrel, while June Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $4.34 at $95.02.

* Oracle (ORCL) shares rose about 4.8% after Bloom Energy (BE) said late Monday it will provide up to 2.8 gigawatts of its fuel cell systems to Oracle (ORCL) under an expanded partnership to support the software giant's artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout. Bloom Energy shares rose roughly 24%. Oracle, on Monday, also introduced AI-focused updates to its utilities software suite, targeting improvements in billing, grid operations, and asset management.

* Wells Fargo's (WFC) shares were down nearly 5.7% after the company's Q1 revenue missed market expectations and Chief Executive Charlie Scharf said there will likely be a lag in the pass-through of higher oil prices.

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