US stocks mixed as market weighs confusing signs on war

AFP | New York

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Wall Street stocks were mixed early yesterday as markets monitored the latest military developments in the Middle East while the White House confirmed receiving a ceasefire proposal from mediators. About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1% at 46,456.21. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 6,593.70, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.4% to 21,960.89. Yesterday’s session was the first since Friday’s monthly jobs report, which showed unexpectedly strong employment gains in March.

US markets had been closed for Good Friday. CFRA Research’s Sam Stovall described investor’s perspective as one of “confusion” at the varying developments in the Iran conflict with the US-Israel alliance. Stovall said the US Federal Reserve is expected to keep rates unchanged for the next while but that a “very high” inflation reading could be concerning as an indication higher oil prices are leading to broad-based pricing pressure.