FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

US Equity Indexes Rise This Week as Iran Heading for Peace Talks Lowers Geopolitical Risk

-- US equity indexes rose this week as Iran peace talks remained on schedule following Israeli attacks on Lebanon and a restricted Strait of Hormuz, and red-hot March inflation report came in line with expectations.

* The S&P 500 closed at 6,816.89 on Friday versus 6,582.69 a week ago. The Nasdaq Composite stood at about 22,902.89, compared with 21,829.18 a week earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 47,916.57, versus 46,504.67 at the end of last week.

* Industrials, communication services, and consumer cyclicals topped sector charts this week, while energy was the sole decliner. Geopolitical risk came off the boil as the US-Iran ceasefire pact included a reopening of Hormuz, a chokepoint to about a fifth of global crude oil flows.

* President Donald Trump asked Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back attacks on Lebanon after Wednesday's strikes killed more than 250 people and injured hundreds, threatening the ceasefire, according to the Wall Street Journal.

* Peace talks are scheduled for Saturday in Islamabad amid threats and preconditions set by the US, Israel, and Iran on the eve, including improved flow of maritime traffic from Hormuz. Vice President JD Vance will lead a team of US negotiators, including Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, to the talks.

* Vance, before setting off for the high-stakes talks, said Washington is "willing to extend the open hand" in this weekend's negotiations but warned Tehran not to "try to play us," The Wall Street Journal reported.

* On the economic data front, investors were focused mainly on the inflation data. The personal consumption expenditures price index for February was mostly in line, but did not reflect the impact of the Iran war on crude oil prices. The consumer price index at 0.9%, as expected, accelerated to its highest monthly reading in almost four years in March as the Middle East conflict sent energy prices sharply higher.

Related Articles

US Markets

Procter & Gamble Fiscal Third-Quarter Results Top Street Views; Maintains Full-Year Outlook

Procter & Gamble (PG) reported stronger-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results on Friday, while the consumer goods giant reiterated its full-year outlook.The maker of Crest toothpaste and Pampers diapers posted adjusted earnings of $1.59 a share for the quarter ended March, up from $1.54 the year before, topping the FactSet-polled consensus for $1.56. Sales rose 7% to $21.24 billion, ahead of the Street's view for $20.53 billion.The stock increased 3% in the most recent premarket activity."We delivered a solid acceleration in top-line results in our fiscal third quarter, with broad-based growth across product categories and regions," Chief Executive Shailesh Jejurikar said in a statement. "We're increasing investments to accelerate momentum with consumers despite the challenging geopolitical and economic environment, while still maintaining our guidance ranges for the fiscal year."Procter & Gamble continues to project adjusted EPS to be in a range of $6.83 to $7.09 for fiscal 2026, while the Street is looking for $6.93. It also maintained its full-year sales growth guidance of 1% to 5% and organic revenue forecast of in line to up 4% year over year.On a net basis, per-share earnings are still pegged to grow by 1% to 6% for the ongoing fiscal year.Procter & Gamble recorded overall gains of 1% in price in the third quarter, while volume advanced 2%. Foreign exchange was a tailwind of 4% to the topline. On an organic basis, which excludes foreign-exchange impact, sales were up 3% while volume inclined 2%.Sales in the fabric and homecare, grooming and healthcare segments rose 7% each on an annual basis in the quarter. The beauty segment recorded an 11% jump in revenue to $3.87 billion, while sales in the baby, feminine and family care business moved 6% higher to $5.06 billion.Core gross margin declined by 100 basis points versus the prior-year period, amid unfavorable mix, reinvestments and higher costs from tariffs, among other factors, the company said."We continue to believe the best path to sustainable, balanced growth is by strengthening execution of our integrated growth strategy," according to Jejurikar. "We are confident in the progress we're making and excited about the longer-term opportunity."

$PG
Treasury

Canada's Retail Sales Seen Continuing to Climb in March After February's Gain

Canadian retail sales increased 0.7% month over month to $72.1 billion in February as sales were up in seven of nine subsectors, led by increases at motor vehicle and parts dealers, said the country's statistical agency on Friday.February's retail sales were a tad lower than the 0.9% month-over-month consensus increase provided by MUFG.Statistics Canada also provided an advance estimate of retail sales on Friday, suggesting sales increased 0.6% month over month in March. This unofficial estimate was calculated based on responses received from 62.7% of companies surveyed. The average final response rate for the survey over the previous 12 months was 88.5%.On the February data, StatsCan noted core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers, were up 0.6% month over month. In volume terms, retail sales increased 0.3% month over month.

$$CXY
Mining & Metals

Questor Technology Secures $1.9 Million From National Research Council Canada to Commercialize 1500kW Heat-to-Power System

Questor Technology (QST.V) won $1.9 million to complete development and launch commercialization of its 1500-kilowatt Rankine Cycle (ORC) Heat-to-Power Generation System from National Research Council of Canada (NRC), it said Friday.Its 1500kW ORC converts both high- and low-temperature waste heat into dispatchable electricity that can be consumed on-site or exported to the grid, and is engineered as the natural companion to the company's Q-Series Thermal Oxidizers, the company said.Questor expects to complete testing of the 1500kW prototype in the second quarter of 2026, with commercial rollout to follow later this year.Shares of the company closed up 8.3% to $0.325 on Thursday on the TSX Venture Exchange.

$QST.V