US Stocks Close Higher On Hopes Of US-Iran Peace Deal

NEW YORK, April 14 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- US stocks closed higher on Monday as investors expressed renewed optimism that a deal could eventually be reached between the United States and Iran, reported Xinhua.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.63 per cent to 48,218.25. The S&P 500 added 1.02 per ent to 6,886.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 1.23 per cent to 23,183.736.

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with financials and technology leading the gainers by adding 1.73 per cent and 1.72 per cent, respectively. Utilities and consumer staples are the only laggards by going down 1.19 per cent and 1.04 per cent, respectively.

Stocks took a leg higher after U.S. President Donald Trump said: "We've been called by the other side." He added that "they'd like to make a deal very badly." Iran has not confirmed that the call has taken place.

The gains came despite the breakdown of weekend peace talks in Islamabad and the implementation of a US blockade of all maritime traffic in and out of Iran's ports, which went into effect Monday. US Central Command stated that the United States will not block vessels using the strait to reach non-Iranian ports.

The failure of negotiations reignited concerns that the conflict could last longer than initially feared, pushing oil futures prices sharply higher in the early session on Monday. Still, oil futures pared much of gains as investors digested the dynamics between the United States and Iran.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May delivery gained 2.6 per cent to settle at US$99.08 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude oil futures for June delivery rose to US$99.36 per barrel, up 4.37 per cent.

Technology names provided a strong boost to the broader market. Shares of all the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants ended higher except for Apple, with the biggest gain of 3.6 per cent with Microsoft.

Investors are now still closely watching developments in West Asia.

--BERNAMA-XINHUA