The main story this weekend was of course the US-Iran negotiations. They ended after 21 hours with the key issues unresolved: opening of the Strait and the end of the enrichment program. In response, on Sunday President Trump said the US Navy would blockade the Strait. CENTCOM later clarified that, saying the blockade will be on ships entering/exiting Iranian ports. That softened the action to just targeting Iran shipping, effectively, while permitting other ships to transit the strait. The see-saw of headlines continued, with some articles touting the potential of continued negotiations while others discussed new options for US military strikes.

Oil prices moved sharply higher overnight. S&P futures were down ~1.5% at the lows but regrouped and moved higher. The S&P 500 opened down 0.2% but jumped on a uranium deal headline (later clarified to much less "breaking new"). Equities nonetheless extended the gains to the highs of the day, following comments from Trump that the “right people” in Iran still want a deal and he’s optimistic that Iran will agree on the US’ nuclear points.

Consumer Staples and Utilities are the main laggards today as risk sentiment improves. Tech and Financials are leading. Software is seeing a big bounce after last week’s drubbing, and Bloomberg reported that Nvidia was looking at acquiring a large PC company- computers, not private credit. Q1 earnings season kicked off today with GS first out of the gate for the mega Financials. The stock is trading lower but was off its worst level despite top and bottom line beats.