Good morning. Equities finished lower yesterday as doubts rose around the path forward for the Iran situation. US officials remained stateside instead of boarding a plane for a second round of negotiations with Iran. Meanwhile the ceasefire deadline continued to draw closer. Crude and yields rose while precious metals fell. Kevin Warsh’s Senate confirmation hearing was largely uneventful while retail sales were solid.

Just after the close yesterday, President Trump announced an extension of the ceasefire, which was supposed to have lapsed tonight. The WSJ reported that significant progress has been made between the two sides behind the scenes, while Axios reported that Trump is only going to give Iran 3-5 more days to engage in negotiations. Futures extended gains this morning after Lebanon said it was working with Israel to extend their own ceasefire. Of course there was also some negative news flow as well, with the WSJ reporting another ship in the Strait was attacked by Iran, which has also apparently not yet decided if it will attend another round of peace talks. S&P futures are up 0.5%, just coming off their highs after the WSJ report, while shrugging off Brent’s early strength this morning.

Treasury yields are flat to down 1bp across the curve, having moved off of the morning’s lows. The US Dollar Index is modestly higher, testing resistance around its 200d ma. Despite the ceasefire announcement oil is higher, taking Brent back above $100. Yesterday’s API data showed a larger than expected draw. Today’s EIA inventory report will follow later in the morning. Crypto is stronger today with Bitcoin up another 4% and testing its 100d ma ~78.5k. and Ether getting to $2400.