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Oil prices jump after Netanyahu announcement; stocks dip

30 April 2018 20:29 (UTC +04:00)

Oil prices rallied on Monday after Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran had lied about pursuing nuclear weapons after signing a 2015 deal with global powers, while global stock indexes dipped with the S&P 500 led down by losses in technology, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Netanyahu said Iran had continued to preserve and expand its nuclear weapons knowledge after the deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump has until May 12 to decide whether to restore sanctions on Iran that were lifted after the 2015 agreement over its nuclear program.

U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 0.87 percent to $68.69 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $74.79, up 1.36 percent.

MSCI’s all-country index of global equities .MIWD00000PUS shed 0.15 percent,

“The immediate worry would be that the Trump administration ditches the Iran deal, causing oil prices to go up... but the bigger (issue) is - would it lead to a larger confrontation militarily in the Mideast,” said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co in Sarasota, Florida.

In the U.S. equity market, top tech names including Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) were among the biggest weights on the S&P 500.

Earnings and deal news provided some support. Starting off another busy week for first-quarter earnings, McDonald Corp’s (MCD.N) reported a better-than-expected rise in sales and its shares jumped 4.3 percent. Apple Inc (AAPL.O) is set to report on Tuesday.

Reports of big M&A deals included U.S.-based Marathon Petroleum Corp’s (MPC.N) agreement to buy Andeavor (ANDV.N) and a tie-up between British supermarket chains Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L) and Walmart Inc’s (WMT.N) ASDA.[nL8N1S70YQ]

“The market doesn’t have a lot of upside momentum going. It rallies for a day or two but it just doesn’t follow through, and that’s been the case since the January-February correction,” Bittles said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 58.48 points, or 0.24 percent, to 24,252.71, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 13.56 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,656.35 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 41.56 points, or 0.58 percent, to 7,078.24.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.21 percent. The MSCI global stock index was on track for a gain for April, its first positive month since January.

Friday’s seemingly successful summit between the leaders of North and South Korean added to positive market sentiment.