00:00Wall Street's main indexes rose on Monday as investors appeared hopeful that a resolution to the Middle East war could
00:08be found while they looked past the failed weekend talks between the US and Iran and monitored the start of
00:15the earnings reporting soon.
00:17After a muted start to the day, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 pick up some steam on Monday
00:23afternoon after US President Donald Trump said that Iran wants to make a deal but that he will not come
00:30to any agreement that allows Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.
00:36This was after Trump announced that the US military began a blockade of ships leaving Iran's ports, while Tehran threatened
00:43to retaliate against ports of its Gulf neighbours after weekend talks on ending the war broke down.
00:49It also helped that crude oil futures part earlier gains to settle below the $100 level.
00:54Chicago Federal Reserve President Austin Goldsby said oil futures markets are pricing an expectation the surge in oil prices will
01:02be short-lived and that as long as this is the case, the impact on the US economy may be
01:06limited.
01:08I believe that it's the same markets refrain, rinse and repeat, if you will.
01:13Each time that we see a prolonged potential outcome for the conflict in the Middle East, you'll see oil prices
01:22go up, inflation forecasts go up, yields go up, and markets pull back.
01:27However, each time there is a ceasefire announcement or the prospect for an ultimate resolution in the Middle East go
01:35up,
01:35well, then you see oil prices come down, inflation forecasts come down, yields come down, and markets start to go
01:43back up.
01:44And we continue to go back and forth with those two camps each passing day.
01:50And until we receive that ultimate resolution, we're not going to receive or see a sustainable recovery in the equities
01:57market or the bond markets.
01:59But investors believe, in my opinion, that that likelihood is high or else we would see the market selling off
02:07much more than they are right now.
02:11Obviously, the higher oil stays, the more of an inflation concern that there is.
02:16And ultimately, that translates into a slowdown for the U.S. economy because 70 percent of our economic growth, GDP
02:24growth, that is, comes from consumer spending.
02:26Oil prices stay high.
02:28Gasoline prices stay high.
02:30Consumers have less to spend if they have to spend more on filling up their tank than they do in
02:35the stores.
02:35So that becomes a prolonged concern for the U.S. economy.
02:42According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 69.34 points, or 1.02 percent, to end at 6
02:49,886.23 points,
02:52while the Nasdaq Composite gained at 280.51 points, or 1.23 percent, to 23,183.40.
03:00The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 291.09 points, or 0.61 percent, to 48,207.66.
03:12Among the S&P 500's 11 major industry sectors, technology was the biggest gainer during the session with boosts from
03:19software companies, including Microsoft and Oracle.
03:23The iShares Expanded Tech Software Index ETF, which has underperformed sharply this year on concerns about AI disruption, rallied sharply
03:31on Monday.
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