Stocks inched higher yesterday as investors awaited a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, while oil prices rose as negotiations between the US and Iran appeared to stall.
Trump on Sunday rejected Iran’s response to a US proposal for peace talks to end the war in the Middle East, saying Tehran’s demands were “totally unacceptable.” Iranian media reported that the plan stressed the need for an end to the war on all fronts and lifting of sanctions on Tehran, along with reparations and recognition of Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy conduit.
The Middle East is expected to be a key part of the agenda later this week in Trump and Xi’s first face-to-face talks in more than six months, said Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, adding that investors were cautiously waiting for the meeting.
“It’s all about the strait and when it’s going to open,” said Wren. “There’s some optimism that China will have some influence in resolving the strait issue.”
On Wall Street at 10.58am ET (1458 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 22.37 points, or 0.05pc, to 49,632.29, the S&P 500 rose 19.63 points, or 0.27pc, to 7,418.56 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 45.81 points, or 0.18pc, to 26,293.54.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 3.23 points, or 0.29pc, to 1,108.86.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.05pc.
In currencies, the dollar retreated from earlier highs after Trump’s rebuff of Iran’s response kept concerns about an extended war intact.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.22pc to 156.99.
Sterling strengthened 0.03pc to $1.3636 as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer attempted to quell a rebellion within his ruling Labour party following a mauling in last week’s local elections. In energy markets, oil prices rose on supply fears as the Strait of Hormuz stayed largely closed.
US Treasury yields edged higher on concerns about high inflation as oil prices rose.
The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes rose 3 basis points to 4.394pc, from 4.364pc late on Friday while the 30-year bond yield rose 2.3 basis points to 4.9699pc.
The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, rose 3.1 basis points to 3.924pc.
Gold prices reversed course to rise in volatile trading on Monday, as investors assessed developments in US-Iran diplomacy and awaited key US inflation data due later this week.
Spot gold rose 0.21pc to $4,724.34 an ounce. US gold futures rose 0.15pc to $4,727.70 an ounce.
Earlier, optimism over AI helped drive Chinese stocks up 1.6pc while South Korea’s chipmaker-heavy KOSPI index rose 4.3pc. Data showed China’s producer prices jumped to a near-four-year high, while consumer inflation also accelerated on elevated global energy costs.
*Bahrain All Share Index has closed at 1,929.49 points, marking a decrease of 4.19 points below the previous closing.
This decrease was due to a drop in the communications services sector, the financials sector and the industrials sector.
Bahrain lslamic Index has closed at 922.88 points, marking a decrease of 2.58 points below the previous closing .
Results indicated that 96 equity transactions took place with a volume of 776,858 worth BD 255,629.
Investors traded mainly in the financials sector, representing 53.63pc of the total value of securities traded.
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