(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Monday as stalled Middle East peace talks and escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz took centre stage.
As of 1510 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.03% at 49,243.05, while the S&P 500 shed 0.05% to 7,161.26 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.18% softer at 24,790.82.
The Dow opened 12.34 points higher on Monday, taking only a modest bite out of losses recorded in the previous session.
US-Iran tensions remained firmly in focus at the open on Monday after Tehran put forward a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the conflict, while suggesting that nuclear talks be deferred, according to Axios, which cited a US official and two people familiar with the matter.
The proposal comes after Donald Trump cancelled plans to send special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for ceasefire discussions, saying the talks could instead take place by phone. Trump said "too much time" was being wasted on travel and added that "if they want to talk, all they have to do is call". Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said no meeting between Tehran and Washington was currently planned.
Tensions around the Strait of Hormuz have escalated in recent days after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boarded two container ships near the key shipping lane, sending West Texas Intermediate 1.98% higher to trade at $96.27 a barrel, while Brent crude climbed 2.16% to $107.60 a barrel.
In the corporate space, Verizon Communications traded higher at the bell after the telecommunications giant posted first quarter results that came in ahead of Wall Street expectations and hiked its full-year guidance following an unexpected gain in mobile subscribers.
On the macro front, the Dallas Federal Reserve's April manufacturing business index will be pulished at 1530 BST.
Traders were also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's policy decision on Wednesday, which could be the final meeting chaired by Jerome Powell before Kevin Warsh was expected to take over in May. The Department of Justice dropped its criminal probe into Powell on Friday, prompting senator Thom Tillis to lift his block on Warsh's confirmation.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $48.03 3.34%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $183.50 2.69%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $187.40 1.25%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $88.64 1.15%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $45.25 1.03%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $149.54 0.99%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $347.50 0.79%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $310.47 0.71%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $933.49 0.71%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $112.60 0.70%
Dow Jones - Fallers
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $229.84 -1.40%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $820.24 -1.30%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $296.89 -1.21%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $267.92 -0.99%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $352.33 -0.73%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $227.38 -0.30%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $38.55 -0.04%
S&P 500 - Risers
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $515.94 4.15%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $11.23 3.98%
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $85.93 3.89%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $240.99 3.82%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $128.47 3.55%
Fluor Corp. (FLR) $49.91 3.41%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $574.23 3.40%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $208.61 3.33%
Western Union Co. (WU) $9.17 3.23%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $495.45 3.17%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $177.59 -22.18%
Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $114.60 -11.22%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $27.77 -9.54%
Corning Inc. (GLW) $166.95 -5.08%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $258.00 -5.02%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $86.36 -4.38%
Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $19.34 -4.23%
Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $168.99 -4.13%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $541.88 -3.93%
Keysight Technologies Inc. (KEYS) $332.83 -3.92%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $129.00 5.70%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $519.85 4.15%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $240.67 3.82%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $128.62 3.55%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $575.50 3.40%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $137.97 3.33%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $209.98 3.33%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $495.19 3.17%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $677.31 3.07%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $347.30 2.96%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $178.29 -22.18%
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $27.77 -9.54%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $26.48 -5.44%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $261.30 -5.02%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $86.73 -4.38%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $542.30 -3.93%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $392.33 -3.41%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $403.47 -3.35%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $272.45 -2.82%
57.99 (0.56%)
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