Over the weekend, President Trump rejected Iran’s most recent proposal. November Brent traded above $108. The two-headed monster of higher oil and yields continued to weigh on equities to begin the week. The S&P 500 opened down 0.3% and got as low as -1% before bouncing. Around noon came a lot of conflicting reports around the current state of Iran negotiations, which appear to remain at at a standstill around the nuclear issue. Oil has pulled back from its highs but that has only been a modest help to equities. The S&P 500 is currently down ~0.5%, with the equal-weight about in line. Small caps were lagging but have gotten back to inline. Mega cap tech is lower, with Meta giving back some recent gains in particular.

Consumer Staples, Energy and Healthcare are the only sectors higher currently. Big Box retailers are leading Staples higher. The E&P majors are holding up Energy as most of the sector trades lower. In Healthcare Biotech (some +ve clinical results) is higher and the Tools group is continuing its strength. Comm Services is lagging with META giving back 4% after its run-up, and before OpenAI announces possible agentic news tomorrow. Consumer Discretionary is lagging too, with autos down 2-3% and AI agent disruption continuing to impact select stocks. Tech stocks were under pressure in the pre-market as security concerns were back in focus after OpenAI reportedly paused training of its latest model related to rogue agents.

Yields continue to move up and are back near their HOD after bouncing around on several Iran headlines. ICE Brent is higher but off its peak today as back and forth headlines push prices around. US natural gas is down 6%, unable to hold its 200d ma. The precious metals complex is under significant pressure with yields continuing to climb and the Dollar stronger. Gold and silver both broke decisively below their respective 50d ma’s, down 4-5% each. Ag is also under pressure. Crypto has pulled back from overnight highs and both Bitcoin and Ether are trading flat.