Equities Mixed Intraday as Markets Track US-Iran Peace Talks
US benchmark equity indexes were mixed after midday Wednesday as traders continued to monitor US-Iran peace deal negotiations.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4% at 50,646.7 intraday, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% to 26,611.6. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 7,509.8. Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 notched new record closing highs in the previous session.Among sectors, consumer discretionary paced the gainers, while energy and financials saw the biggest drop.Iranian state TV reportedly claimed that a draft memorandum on ending the three-month-old conflict calls for the US to withdraw its military forces and lift the blockade of Iranian ports in return for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz within a month. However, the White House dismissed it as a "complete fabrication," CNN reported.President Donald Trump on Wednesday expressed confidence that the US would be able to reach a deal to end the conflict, but he is not yet satisfied with the terms, CNN reported.West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 4.4% at $89.77 a barrel intraday Wednesday, while Brent fell 4.1% to $95.54.US Treasury yields were mixed intraday Wednesday, with the 10-year rate down 1.1 basis points at 4.48% and the two-year rate little changed at 4.04%.In company news, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said Wednesday at a conference that the bank's expenses this year could be "closer" to $106 billion, or $1 billion higher than previously projected. JPMorgan shares were down 3%.Dimon also said that "there might be in the next couple of years a chance to put $10 billion or $20 billion to work buying something," referring to a potential merger and acquisition story, according to a FactSet transcript.Zscaler (ZS) shares tanked nearly 32% intraday after the cloud security company provided a fiscal fourth-quarter revenue outlook below market estimates, even though it reported better-than-expected results for the prior three-month period.PDD's (PDD) first-quarter earnings unexpectedly declined year over year, while the Chinese e-commerce platform's revenue fell short of market estimates. The stock slid nearly 12% intraday.Abercrombie & Fitch's (ANF) fiscal first-quarter earnings topped Wall Street's projections amid record sales for the apparel retailer. The company's shares jumped nearly 12% intraday.Marvell (MRVL), Salesforce (CRM), Synopsys (SNPS), Snowflake (SNOW) and HP (HPQ) were scheduled to release their quarterly results after the markets close Wednesday.Gold was down 1.4% at $4,441 per troy ounce, while silver lost 2.2% $74.90 per ounce.
