US Markets
Stocks Mostly Down Pre-Bell as Iran Reportedly Offers New Proposal to Open Strait of Hormuz
The benchmark US stock measures were mostly tracking in the red before the opening bell Monday as traders assess media speculation about Iran's new proposal to open the Strait of Hormuz.The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.1% each in premarket activity, while the Nasdaq was up 0.1%. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 finished Friday's trading session with new closing highs, while the Dow was down.Iran has sent a new proposal to the US to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important chokepoint for crude flows, Axios reported, citing a US official and two sources with knowledge of the matter. The proposal reportedly includes postponing nuclear negotiations to a later stage.Shipment traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains at a near-complete halt with Iran and the US imposing their respective blockades of maritime traffic, Bloomberg News reported Sunday.West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.1% to $96.38 a barrel before the open, while Brent gained 2.3% to $107.77.President Donald Trump cancelled plans to send his representatives to Pakistan for negotiations with Iran, saying too much time has been "wasted on traveling.""We have all the cards, they have none!" Trump said in a social media post on Saturday. "If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!"Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi travelled to Islamabad over the weekend to convey Tehran's "observations" to Pakistan's high-level officials, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a post on X. There was no meeting planned with the US, according to Baqaei.Trump last week extended a ceasefire with Iran, but maintained the naval blockade of Iranian ports.The personal income and outlays report for March is scheduled to be released on Thursday. The report includes the personal consumption expenditure core price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric.US consumer sentiment improved from an initial April estimate, but remained at a record low as near-term inflation expectations logged the biggest monthly increase in a year, final University of Michigan survey results showed Friday.Monday's thin economic calendar has the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey for April at 10:30 am ET.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.Verizon Communications (VZ) and Domino's Pizza (DPZ) report their earnings before the bell, while Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) announces its financial statement after the markets close.Organon (OGN) shares climbed 16% pre-bell after the healthcare firm agreed to be acquired by India's Sun Pharmaceutical Industries in an all-cash deal worth about $11.75 billion. Qualcomm (QCOM) added 13% after finishing the previous trading session up 11%, while Nvidia (NVDA) increased 1%.Treasury yields were trending upwards in premarket action, with the two-year rate inclining 1.3 basis points to 3.79% and the 10-year rate moving 0.6 basis points higher to 4.32%.Gold slipped 0.5% to $4,718 per troy ounce, while bitcoin decreased 0.6% to $77,804.
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