By Mike Murphy

Ships sit anchored off Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. New attacks raised questions about efforts to keep the crucial waterway open while Washington and Tehran negotiate a final settlement to their war.

Oil prices rose Sunday and U.S. stock-index futures advanced, after the U.S. and Iran reportedly agreed to halt attacks after repeatedly exchanging fire in the Persian Gulf over the weekend.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM00) were up 160 points, or 0.3%, as of 11 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. S&P 500 futures (ES00) and Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ00) each gained around 0.6% following a steep tech selloff on Friday. Bitcoin (BTCUSD) was trading below $60,000, down more than 7% over the past week.

West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery, the U.S. benchmark (CL.1) (CLQ26), rose 1%, near $70 a barrel, after settling Friday at $69.23 a barrel, down almost 9% for the week. Brent crude (BRN00) (BRNQ26), the global benchmark, also gained after settling Friday at $71.99 a barrel, down about 11% on the week. Both oil benchmarks have lost about 20% month to date, as it appeared a peace deal would fully reopen the flow of oil and gas from the Gulf. But recent developments renewed doubts.

Citing a U.S. official, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported Sunday night that both sides have agreed to halt further attacks and allow shipping through the strait, with further talks - which had been scheduled for this week - expected to continue.

"Investors are still trading the belief that peace, however ragged and unreliable, remains on the table," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, in a note Sunday night.

"Oil is higher because the Strait of Hormuz remains a live wire," he added. "Equities are holding firm because the market still believes neither side wants to turn a flare-up into a full blackout."

Earlier Sunday, Iran launched drone and missile strikes against U.S. bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, the Associated Press reported, and threatened a "complete halt" to ongoing peace negotiations with the U.S.

That came after U.S. forces struck Iranian targets over the weekend, largely missile, radar and communications sites, the New York Times reported, in retaliation for Iranian attacks against commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz last week.

Navigation of the strategic strait was at the crux of the latest hostilities. Iran claimed it must control the flow of shipping traffic through the waterway, while the U.S. and its allies maintained that the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway free for all ships to transit. Shipping traffic through the strait had picked up in recent weeks, but slowed to a trickle during the weekend's flare-up of fighting.

In a social-media post Saturday, President Donald Trump again threatened Iran: "There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!"

Meanwhile, investors will be keeping a close eye on tech stocks this week, after a broad selloff last week. The Nasdaq COMP slid 4.6% during the week and is down more than 6% in June, putting it on track for its worst month since March 2025, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500 SPX declined 2% while the Dow DJIA edged higher for the third straight week.

The so-called "Magnificent Seven" group of megacap tech stocks has lost nearly $3 trillion in market cap this month, according to FactSet data. Chip makers such as Micron Technology and Sandisk tumbled last week too, as investors rotated out of tech into other, less volatile sectors.

"We are going through another 'gut check' few weeks ahead for the tech trade as tech investors await a very important 2Q earnings season in July to further validate the AI Revolution buildout," Wedbush analysts led by Dan Ives said in a note Sunday. They described the current situation as an "air-pocket stage" for AI development, as billions are still being spent on the buildout of infrastructure while investors impatiently await the rewards once AI capabilities can be fully monetized in the coming years. "Short-term pain for long-term gain is what is happening on Big Tech," they said.

Trading will be abbreviated in the coming week, with markets closed on Friday, June 3, in observance of the Fourth of July holiday.

-Mike Murphy

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