[New York Stock Exchange] "Near Agreement" on Strait of Hormuz... Markets Mixed

Pakistan Defense Minister Interview with Bloomberg

"Situation Turning Favorable Again"

International Oil Prices Slightly Lower

Nvidia Up Over 1%

On August 11 (local time), the three major U.S. stock indexes are trading mixed as investors closely watch negotiations related to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The Nasdaq index is currently fluctuating around the 26,600 mark in an effort to defend that level.

As of 10:05 a.m. at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) is up 114.20 points, or 0.21%, at 54,090.19. The large-cap S&P 500 index has gained 9.09 points, or 0.12%, to 7,762.20, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index has slipped 4.21 points, or 0.02%, to 26,601.14.

Inside the New York Stock Exchange. New York, USA - Photo by Yoonju Hwang

On this day, Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, who has been mediating ceasefire negotiations between the United States and Iran, said in an interview with Bloomberg that the two countries were "close to some sort of agreement."

Minister Asif stated, "The situation is once again developing in a direction favorable to a peace accord or agreement." He added, "Signals from the last two or three days indicate that both sides are on the verge of reaching some kind of agreement."

Earlier, Iran had announced that an agreement regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and Oman was imminent. However, Iran emphasized that it would continue to refuse direct negotiations with the United States until certain conditions are met.

Amid reports of changes in the stalemate, international oil prices are currently slightly down. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for September delivery is down 0.57% from the previous session to $81.70 per barrel. On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent crude for October delivery has fallen 0.70% from the previous session to $87.07 per barrel.

Nvidia is up 1.20% from the previous session, trading at $220.25. The day before, Nvidia announced that it had entered into funding partnerships totaling more than $500 billion with six major Wall Street financial firms to build artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.

Shares of oil refiners, such as ExxonMobil (up 0.51%) and Chevron (up 0.30%), are on the rise. As for semiconductors and tech stocks, Meta and SK hynix ADR are up 0.15% and 3.31%, respectively. Meanwhile, Intel (down 0.83%), Micron Technology (down 0.48%), Microsoft (down 0.87%), and Alphabet (down 2.02%) are trading lower.

Investors are focusing on the July Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) releases. Following the recently released employment report, which showed weaker-than-expected figures and made the outlook for the Federal Reserve (Fed) more uncertain, market attention has shifted further to inflation data.

This is because the prospect of an end to the war is fading and tensions in the Middle East are sporadically reigniting, causing oil prices and inflationary pressures to rise again. CNBC reports that the sharp slowdown in job growth, in particular, is raising questions about consumer spending and the overall health of the U.S. economy.

Dennis Palmer, Chief Investment Officer at Montis Financial, said, "Despite Friday's disappointing jobs report, the CPI report is expected to continue its downward trend, further supporting the argument that the Fed will hold rates steady instead of raising them."

He added, "Inflation in the services sector may continue to be a headache, but since that sector is not particularly sensitive to interest rates, it is unlikely to significantly weaken the case for maintaining the status quo."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.