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US Equity Indexes Advance, Crude Oil Drops as Rubio Says Combat Operation Against Iran 'Over'
US equity indexes rose on Tuesday as crude oil futures fell after the United Arab Emirates reported fresh Iranian attacks and Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly said combat against Tehran is "over."The Nasdaq Composite was 1% higher at 25,326.13, after touching a record 25,361.05 intraday. The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to 7,259.22, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.7% to 49,298.25. All sectors rose, with materials and technology leading the gainers.The UAE said it was under attack from Iranian missiles and drones for a second day on Tuesday, according to a report from Reuters. However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday the combat operation launched in February against Iran has ended, CNN reported. US military action during the ceasefire is a "defensive operation," he was cited as saying.At a Pentagon briefing Tuesday, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iran's military actions on Monday didn't rise to the level of restarting the war, according to The Wall Street Journal. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking at the same press conference, said the Iran ceasefire deal remains in force and promised to press ahead with opening the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for about a fifth of global crude oil flows.The statements follow Tehran's strikes in the Strait of Hormuz and at Fujairah in the UAE on Monday, fueling concern that the ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran was at risk. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump told congressional leaders that "hostilities" with Iran have "terminated," addressing a critical 60-day deadline under a decades-old law meant to limit the use of military force without authorization from Congress, CBS News reported.West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures dropped 3.9% to $102.27, and Brent crude futures slumped 3.1% to $110.83.US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year down two basis points to 4.43%, retreating from its highest level in about a month. Two-year yield slid 1.8 basis points to 3.94%.In economic news, US job openings fell to 6.866 million in March from 6.922 million in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, versus the 6.850 million expected in a Bloomberg-compiled poll. The March level represents 4.1% of total employment, down from 4.2% in February and a year ago.Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management's US services index declined to 53.6 in April from 54.0 in March, versus expectations for 53.7 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.In company news, Intel (INTC) shares soared 13%, the second-biggest gainer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, after Bloomberg reported that Apple (AAPL) has held early discussions with the company and Samsung Electronics on producing key device processors in the US.Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) reported flat Q1 earnings. Its share fell 10%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500.Shopify (SHOP) reported a Q2 revenue outlook that implied a sequential slowdown in annual growth. Its shares tumbled 16%, the worst performer on the Nasdaq.Precious metals were mixed, with gold futures up 0.8% to $4,569.6. Silver futures added 0.1% to $73.58, after trading higher earlier in the session.
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