US STOCKS-S&P 500 edges up after report of Iran's secret outreach to U.S.
By Johann M Cherian and Ragini Mathur
March 4 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 edged higher in choppy trading on Wednesday as investors weighed a report that Iranian operatives secretively reached out to the U.S. to pursue talks to end the conflict, while President Donald Trump's assurance to stabilize oil markets also boosted sentiment.
A New York Times report said Iranian intelligence operatives indirectly reached out to the CIA a day after the attacks, but U.S. officials remain skeptical that either the Trump administration or Iran is prepared for a near-term de-escalation.
This is "in and of itself likely good news, but we shouldn't take anything for granted as the administration has been pretty clear that they have goals that they have not met yet," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.
Travel stocks that are sensitive to oil prices were mixed, having gained in premarket trading. American Airlines rose 1.2% and Norwegian Cruise NCLH.N was flat, while Carnival CCL.N and Delta DAL.N slipped 1.2% and 0.8%, respectively.
Oil and gas producers such as ConocoPhillips COP.N and Cheniere Energy LNG.N lost 2.8% and 1.5%, while the S&P 500 Energy sector .SPNY dropped 1.8% and led sectors lower.
Several Middle Eastern countries have also temporarily halted oil and gas production and the U.S. was looking to expand its campaign inland inside Iran.
However, President Trump's announcements of a U.S. Naval escort for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz and political risk insurance brought some relief.
New York Fed President John Williams also said on Tuesday the U.S. economy has proved to be resilient to energy price shocks. The U.S. oil-prices benchmark CLc1 was last at $75 having rallied this week.
At 09:56 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 33.53 points, or 0.07%, to 48,467.74, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 8.59 points, or 0.12%, to 6,825.22 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 130.06 points, or 0.58%, to 22,646.75.
Investors also scooped up tech stocks that sold off heavily in February. Nvidia NVDA.O added 1% and other chip stocks such as Sandisk SNDK.O and Applied Digital APLD.O were up 2.7% and 5%, respectively.
The CBOE volatility index, also known as Wall Street's fear gauge .VIX, dropped 1.03 points to 22.51, while the rate-sensitive Russell 2000 index .RUT was marginally higher.
Policymakers have acknowledged that the conflict will complicate the Federal Reserve's monetary policy outlook and Goldman Sachs GS.N CEO David Solomon said markets may take a while to fully digest the repercussions.
Investors have pushed back expectations for a 25-basis-point interest rate cut to September from July, pricing in potential energy costs and U.S. tariffs fueling inflation.
Traditional safe-havens such as precious metals gained. Miner Endeavour Silver EXK.N was up 2.3%.
Crypto stocks such as Strategy MSTR.O and Coinbase COIN.O added about 11.5% and 9.3%, respectively, tracking a 5.4% jump in bitcoin BTC=.
Drugmaker Moderna MRNA.O added 5.9% after agreeing to pay up to $2.25 billion to settle a long-running legal fight over a COVID-19 vaccine patent.
Meanwhile, a private survey showed private payrolls increased more than expected in February, though data for the prior month was revised sharply lower.
The Fed's Beige Book, a district-by-district snapshot of economic conditions, is due later in the day.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.11-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.3-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted six new 52-week highs and two new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 34 new highs and 44 new lows.
