Nasdaq 100 Eyes Best Run in Years on Peace Push: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — The Nasdaq 100 looked set to notch its longest streak of gains since 2021 as optimism that the US and Iran are considering another round of peace talks pushed oil lower and lifted stocks globally. JPMorgan Chase & Co. extended a lackluster start to the earnings season for lenders.
Futures for the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4%, pointing to a 10th straight day of wins. S&P 500 contracts were 0.1% higher after the gauge erased its war-driven losses on Monday. Shares in Europe and Asia advanced as well as hopes grew that a deal in the Middle East will help normalize energy flows and halt the threat of a global inflationary spiral.
The US and Iran are weighing negotiations to extend a two-week ceasefire as President Donald Trump presses ahead with a naval blockade to curb the Islamic Republic’s oil exports. The objective is to hold fresh discussions before the truce expires, according to people familiar. The parties could return to Islamabad for talks this week, Reuters reported.
Brent fell 0.6% to below $99 a barrel, with the International Energy Agency estimating that the war will wipe out global oil demand growth for the first time since the 2020 pandemic. The dollar headed for a seventh straight day of losses, while Treasuries extended a modest rally. Gold rose 0.6% toward $4,770 an ounce.
“Markets were already leaning toward the view that diplomacy would stay alive in some form,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets. “This signal matters because it turns that hope into something more tangible, and that is enough to reinforce the relief trade.”
Traders are also focused on first-quarter earnings at a time when the war in the Middle East is weighing on the outlook for the economy. JPMorgan shares fell more than 2% in premarket trading after the lender cut its full-year forecast for net interest income. Wells Fargo & Co. slipped 1.9%. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. fell 1.9% on Monday, while Citigroup Inc. is due to report later Tuesday.
“There is good value in the US equity market now. It has de-rated quite a lot and underlying profits are going to remain strong,” Peter Oppenheimer, chief global equity strategist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., told Bloomberg TV. “If we continue to see moderation in oil prices and some of the concern about interest rate rises begin to fade, then we’ve got a reasonable degree of upside.”
Investors will also receive the next installment of March US inflation data with Tuesday’s release of the producer price index. Similar to the consumer price report, the measure of wholesale inflation will reflect the surge in energy prices during the first month of the Iran war.
Economists project the PPI rose 1.1% from a month earlier, which would be the largest increase in four years. The core PPI, which excludes energy and food, is forecast to rise 0.4% for a second month, extending a stretch of heightened wholesale inflation pressures that dates back to late 2025.
A Federal Reserve roundtable will round out a busy day of headlines.
“Soaring energy prices are pushing CPI and PPI higher, but it is still too early to detect any meaningful pass-through to core inflation,” said Roberto Scholtes, head of strategy at Singular Bank. “Besides, the effect of tariffs is beginning to fade. The outlook for monetary policy is now the main driver of bond markets.”
Meanwhile, HSBC Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery said the conflict in the Middle East and broader “uncertainties” are beginning to dent client confidence.
“We’re saddened and concerned with what’s happening in the Middle East, and we’re concerned not just with what’s happening, but also with how long this will take,” Elhedery told Bloomberg Television in Hong Kong. “Unfortunately, some of these uncertainties have initially started to weigh on general confidence.”
What Bloomberg’s Strategists Say
“The Iran induced supply shock raises clear downside risks for earnings, but with estimates holding firm and optimism around a resolution intact, markets are pushing the negative impact further out.”
— Skylar Montgomery Koning, macro strategist. For the full analysis, click here.
Corporate Highlights:
BlackRock Inc. took in a net $130 billion of client cash in the first quarter, with investor money continuing to pour in despite volatility in the public and private markets and protracted uncertainty over the war in Iran. Wells Fargo & Co. missed analysts’ estimates for its primary income streams in the first quarter even as the banking industry saw the biggest jump in corporate borrowing in more than three years. United Airlines Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby has floated a possible combination with American Airlines Group Inc., according to people familiar with the conversations. American Airlines jumped more than 4% in premarket trading while United rose nearly 2%. BP Plc said its oil trading performance was exceptional in the first quarter as the Iran war caused a surge in prices. Sales at LVMH’s biggest division fell at the start of the year as the Iran war curbed purchases of high-end goods in Middle East shopping hubs like Dubai. A Blue Owl Capital Inc. private credit fund raised $400 million from bond investors Monday, marking the first deal of its kind in over a month. Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. is considering a share sale to raise as much as $5 billion in Hong Kong after rallying strongly since its May listing in the city, according to people familiar with the matter. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% as of 6:51 a.m. New York time Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.4% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6% The MSCI World Index rose 0.3% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3% The euro rose 0.3% to $1.1796 The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.3555 The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 158.83 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 1.7% to $74,424.27 Ether rose 5.4% to $2,375.26 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.29% Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 3.06% Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 4.83% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.8% to $97.33 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,771.09 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Abhishek Vishnoi, Olivia Levieux, Macarena Muñoz, Subrat Patnaik and Neil Campling.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
