US Equity Markets Mixed Ahead of US-Iran Peace Talks, High Inflation Report
US equity indexes were mixed on Friday, with US-Iran peace talks about to begin and higher government bond yields following a high-paced inflation report.* Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said talks cannot start until the US meets two conditions: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of blocked Iranian assets. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran is "doing a very poor job" of letting crude oil pass and cautioned against collecting tolls.* The consumer price index advanced 0.9% in March, its strongest pace of growth since June 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The latest print met a Bloomberg-polled consensus view. Annually, inflation rose to 3.3% from February's 2.4% rise, falling short of Wall Street's 3.4% projection.* May West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $1.62 to settle at $96.25 per barrel, while June Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $1.28 at $94.64.* Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares rose about 8.8% on Friday, a day after it launched the Gold Series enterprise server suite for artificial intelligence, storage, and edge workloads.* Fair Isaac (FICO) shares were down roughly 14%, among the steepest decliners on the S&P 500, after Barclays adjusted its price target for the stock to $1,950 from $2,400 while maintaining its overweight rating.