US Markets
Stocks Mostly Up Pre-Bell as Israel, Lebanon Agree to Extend Ceasefire
The benchmark US stock measures were mostly pointing higher before the open Friday as President Donald Trump announced an extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% and the Nasdaq increased 0.9%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3%. The indexes finished the previous trading session lower.In a social media post on Thursday, Trump said the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by three weeks after representatives from the two countries met at the White House. Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon last week."The meeting went very well!" Trump wrote. "The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah."The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon has been a key sticking point in US-Iran peace efforts, which are showing no apparent signs of progress."Hopes for a resolution between the US and Iran are fading as peace talks stall," ING Bank said in a Thursday report. "If no progress is made, the market will become increasingly numb to the noise and headlines that have dictated price action recently."Trump on Thursday ordered the US navy to "shoot and kill any boat" placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Separately, the US leader claimed that the US has "total control" over the key oil supply chokepoint.Trump extended a ceasefire with Iran earlier in the week, though he said the naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Wednesday reportedly seized two tankers attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz.West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.3% to $97.08 a barrel before the opening bell, while Brent gained 1.6% to $106.76.Treasury yields were trending upwards in premarket action, with the two-year rate increasing 1.5 basis points to 3.84% and the 10-year rate adding 0.8 basis points to 4.33%.Shares of Intel (INTC) jumped 27% pre-bell after the chipmaker reported first-quarter results above Wall Street's estimates. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) climbed 11% while Lucid (LCID) rebounded 0.4% following a 9.3% drop at the close of Thursday.Procter & Gamble (PG), HCA Healthcare (HCA), SLB (SLB) and Charter Communications (CHTR) report their latest financial results before the bell, among others.Friday's economic calendar has the final University of Michigan consumer sentiment report for April at 10 am ET, followed by the weekly Baker Hughes oil-and-gas rig count at 1 pm.Gold declined 0.6% to $4,695 per troy ounce, while bitcoin was slightly up at $77,789.
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