U.S. Stocks Traded Higher as U.S.-Iran Negotiators Search for Elusive Durable Peace Agreement

Barry Adams
22 Jun, 2026
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street traded higher, and investors returned from a three-day holiday. 

The U.S. stock exchanges were closed on Friday for the Juneteenth holiday. 

The S&P 500 Index increased 0.5%, and the tech-dominated Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6% as investors overlooked lingering uncertainty in the Middle East. 

Tensions escalated in the Gulf region while negotiators from the U.S. and Iran talked in Switzerland in search of a durable peace agreement. 

Crude oil erased early gains and turned sharply lower after Qatar and Pakistan said that the U.S. and Iranian negotiators had agreed on a roadmap with a goal of reaching a final agreement over the next 60 days.

The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil price decreased 2.6% to $75.36 a barrel, and the international Brent crude oil price declined 1.6% to $79.31 a barrel.

For now, crude oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains sharply curtailed as the U.S. and Iran assert control over the narrow passageway used by Gulf nations to deliver more than 15 million barrels of crude oil to international markets. 

The Strait of Hormuz has effectively remained paralyzed since February 28, or 115 days, as the region is deemed a high-risk zone for maritime shipping as insurance companies stopped providing coverage.

Benchmark indexes in London, UK, traded around the flatline after the prime minister, Keir Starmer, announced his resignation following steep losses in local elections and a decisive by-election victory by rival Andy Burnham. 

The pound weakened to $1.32 against the U.S. dollar, and the yield on 10-year bonds eased to 4.82%, reflecting that Starmer's decision was already priced in after Burnham's win on Friday. 

The U.K. is heading for its seventh prime minister in ten years as political turmoil grips the nation, which is struggling to regain its economic momentum amid high energy prices, a cost of living crisis, and record high debt.

On the economic front, investors are awaiting the release of May's personal consumption expenditures price index on Thursday, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, which generally understates price pressures in the economy. 

The core rate of inflation is likely to advance from April, as goods and fuel inflation spills over to the services segment of the economy.

 

U.S. Movers 

SpaceX decreased 4.4% to $176.38, and the stock extended its losses for the third session after surging as much as 50% from its initial public offering price of $135 on June 12. 

Exxon Mobil Corp. increased 1% to $138.84, Chevron Corp. advanced 1% to $175.54, and ConocoPhillips jumped 2% to $109.93.