US open: Stocks rise on renewed hopes for Iran peace deal

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street opened higher on Friday as investors took encouragement from renewed hopes of a peace deal between the US and Iran, even as oil prices rose and a weak consumer sentiment report underlined the inflationary toll of the conflict.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.54% to 50,556.09, while the S&P 500 gained 0.28% to 7,466.33 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.12% to 26,325.52.

In commodities, Brent crude futures were last up 1.89% on ICE at $104.52 per barrel, while the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate gained 1.6% to $97.89.

Neil Wilson, investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said: "Markets are pricing for de-escalation in the Middle East and thumping AI-led earnings growth."

He noted that the Dow Jones had rallied 276 points, or 0.55%, on Thursday to close at a record high, while there were modest gains for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, "falling just short of their recent peaks".

"Traders are hopeful of a deal between the US and Iran," Wilson said.

"Although Iran's Supreme Leader reportedly resisted demands to remove enriched uranium from the country, Tehran has said the latest proposal from Washington had helped narrow differences between the two sides, whilst president Trump said he'd be prepared to wait 'a couple of days' for a response."

Wilson added: "There [is a] sense things are moving in the right direction still for markets - slowly, unevenly, but still in the right direction.

"That's cut off the extreme left tail risk for the market but oil remains the key here and is still trading above $100 because of acute physical tightness."

Consumer sentiment falls to record low in May

Economic data showed US consumer sentiment fell to a record low in May, with the University of Michigan's final sentiment index dropping to 44.8 from 49.8 in April.

The reading was below both the preliminary estimate of 48.2 and all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Long-term inflation expectations also worsened, with consumers expecting prices to rise at an annualised 3.9% over the next five to 10 years, up from 3.5% in April and the highest in seven months.

One-year inflation expectations stood at 4.8%, as gasoline prices hovering near their highest levels since 2022 added to cost-of-living concerns.

"The cost of living continues to be a first-order concern, with 57% of consumers spontaneously mentioning that high prices were eroding their personal finances, up from 50% last month,'' said Joanne Hsu, director of the survey.

Hsu added: "Critically, consumers appear worried that inflation will increase and proliferate beyond fuel prices, even in the long run."

Wilson said oil prices remained central to the bond-market outlook, "where yields have eased a bit in the last couple of days as crude retreated".

He said Brent's fall "from a high above $111 on Wednesday to $102 at the lows yesterday reflects optimism, but it's up a bit this morning again to $105 where it's regained the key 50-day moving average."

Estee Lauder jumps, Take-Two in the red

Among individual stocks, Estée Lauder Companies jumped 10.14% after saying late on Thursday that talks with Spanish fashion and beauty group Puig about a potential merger had ended.

Workday rose 4.05% after the enterprise software company reported better-than-expected first-quarter results and raised its full-year margin outlook.

Take-Two Interactive Software fell 5.86% after its results, making it one of the weaker performers in early trading.

"Meanwhile earnings remain the driver underneath - long-term earnings growth consensus expectations for the S&P 500 rose to 21.9% this week - the highest on record except for the pandemic, per Yardeni," Wilson said.

"US economic growth remains robust and inflation is picking up.

"The only thing that can stop this market are bond yields, though I would expect some mainly flow driven pullback over the early summer."

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $121.48 5.03%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $120.99 4.17%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $119.53 4.07%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $340.11 2.64%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $309.22 2.28%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $179.12 2.07%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $258.64 1.64%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $878.09 1.60%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $386.93 1.16%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $995.68 1.06%

Dow Jones - Fallers

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $281.60 -0.91%

Boeing Co. (BA) $217.75 -0.85%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $419.02 -0.36%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $190.82 -0.03%

Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $0.00 0.00%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $0.00 0.00%

Visa Inc. (V) $331.20 0.02%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $81.21 0.09%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $307.57 0.11%

S&P 500 - Risers

HP Inc (HPQ) $24.96 13.68%

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $232.65 13.16%

NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $134.05 11.91%

Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $86.95 10.54%

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $36.58 8.02%

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $78.93 7.70%

American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.68 7.63%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $527.10 7.38%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $374.86 7.04%

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $231.21 6.58%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62%

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $225.63 -4.89%

Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $56.37 -3.56%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $216.26 -3.10%

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $102.91 -2.56%

Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $200.69 -2.52%

Apache Corp. (APA) $38.85 -2.18%

Newmont Corporation (NEM) $106.50 -1.78%

Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $203.92 -1.57%

D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $141.27 -1.33%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $232.65 13.16%

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $117.31 9.56%

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $78.93 7.70%

American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.68 7.63%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $527.10 7.38%

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $29.34 7.12%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $374.86 7.04%

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $231.21 6.58%

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Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $128.59 5.18%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $225.63 -4.89%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $216.26 -3.10%

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $102.91 -2.56%

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $128.17 -1.66%

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $1,027.88 -1.30%

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $30.84 -1.15%

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $47.01 -1.09%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $413.81 -0.89%

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $637.54 -0.88%