Equities shot higher on Monday following news of a US-Iran peace deal as well as proof you can win an NBA championship with a small guard as your #1. The S&P 500 is modestly lower today, weakening a bit after opening slightly down. The equal-weight is flat. The Russell 2000 opened higher, extended those gains before moving lower with the S&P a little later though its off its lows. Equities saw a bit of a bounce after the WSJ reported the US-Iran deal signing will allow Tehran to immediately export oil. That nudged oil lower and took yields down as well.

Today has a defensive/value tilt as both factors outperform. Utilities and Financials are leading higher as rates fall. Almost all Financial groups are in the green but the exchanges are once again under some pressure. The rise of perpetual futures, tokenization and related crypto products are creating more uncertainty around business models. Industrials are also among the leaders with machinery among the best performers within the sector. Tech is lagging today, giving back some of yesterday’s gains. Both hardware (NYSE Semis and DRAM ETF down 2-4%) and software (IGV -2%) are getting hit. Energy is also lower on oil’s weakness, but the move seems modest in light of the commodity’s 5% drop.

Treasury yields are following oil lower with some curve flattening. There’s a 20Y auction at 1pm. The US Dollar Index is down as well. Housing Starts of 1.177M fell 15% from last month and were below estimates, reaching levels not seen since 2020. Crude continues to fall with Brent down another 5% and trading below $80. Metals are modestly higher, helped by rates and the Dollar. After sharp gains yesterday Bitcoin and Ether have pulled back from more modest gains earlier and are now lower.