Equities Rise Intraday, Oil Falls Amid US-Iran Talk Optimism
US benchmark equity indexes rose intraday, while oil prices fell amid optimism that Washington and Iran could revive peace talks.The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.8% at 23,610.3 after midday Tuesday, while the S&P 500 rose 1.1% to 6,962.8. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6% to 48,572.3. Among sectors, communication services paced the gainers with a 3.1% jump, while energy saw the steepest decline.West Texas Intermediate crude oil tumbled 7.2% to $91.71 per barrel, while Brent lost 4.4% to $95.03.The US and Iran could resume talks later this week, possibly in Pakistan, news outlets reported, citing US President Donald Trump.Trump continues to be open to resuming in-person negotiations soon if he believes Iran is ready to submit to his demands, CNN reported, citing people familiar with the matter.Over the weekend, US-Iran peace negotiations in Pakistan ended without a deal. Following that setback, the US navy started a blockade of Iranian ports in the crucial Strait of Hormuz. A two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, however, still holds.The International Energy Agency on Tuesday forecast global oil demand to turn negative this year due to the Middle East conflict, penciling in the sharpest consumption decline in the second quarter since the COVID-19 pandemic.US Treasury yields were lower intraday, with the 10-year rate down 4.3 basis points at 4.25% and the two-year rate dropping three basis points to 3.75%.In company news, Amazon.com (AMZN) agreed to buy mobile satellite services operator Globalstar (GSAT) as the e-commerce giant aims to add direct-to-device services to its Leo satellite network. Amazon shares were up 5.1% intraday, the top gainer on the Dow, while Globalstar jumped 10%.Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) lifted its full-year outlook as the healthcare products conglomerate's first-quarter results surpassed Wall Street's expectations. The company's shares were up 1.4%, among the best performers on the Dow.JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Citigroup's (C) first-quarter results topped the Street's expectations, while Wells Fargo's (WFC) revenue missed market views.Wells Fargo shares were down 4.6% intraday, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500. JPMorgan shares were down 0.7%, while Citigroup rose 3.4%.In economic news, US producer prices growth steadied in March as wholesale costs of energy surged amid volatility stemming from the Iran war."A sizable increase in the PPI underscores the material effects of higher energy prices and the broader inflationary impact of a global price shock on the domestic economy," Stifel said in a note. "Such pressures are furthermore likely to intensify in the coming months as upstream costs work their way down the production pipeline."Gold was up 2% at $4,863.10 per troy ounce, while silver advanced 5% to $79.42 per ounce.