LIVE MARKETS-Wall Street surges on hopes of resolution of Iran war

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WALL STREET SURGES ON HOPES OF RESOLUTION OF IRAN WAR

Shares on Wall Street ended with steep gains on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump delayed striking Iran's energy infrastructure following productive talks between the two countries. That eased near-term concerns about further supply shocks and boosted risk assets.

Iran's foreign ministry refuted the claim, with a spokesperson saying they had held no discussions with the United States and that their conditions to end the war had not changed. While another source told Reuters Israeli officials believed the U.S. and Iran could hold talks this week.

All 11 sectors of the S&P 500 posted gains, led by the Consumer Discretionary space, which rose nearly 3% .SPLRCD.

U.S. crude futures, as expected, fell sharply, sinking 10% on the day CLc1.

The small-cap Russell 2000 .RUT outperformed, advancing 2.3%. On Friday, the index, which is sensitive to higher interest rates, had ended more than 10% below its record close of January 22, confirming a correction.

"Before we get too optimistic about 'peace deals' getting baked in the next couple of days, we'd note that the demands of both sides (as they currently stood) still seemed unbridgeable," said Thierry Wizman, global FX and rates strategist at Macquarie Group.

"It's far-fetched to imagine the U.S. dropping its demands pertaining to Iran's nuclear assets, or that the U.S. would just leave its bases in the Gulf."

He noted that this morning's news and tweets regarding an imminent "breakthrough" should be treated with a "healthy grain of salt." Wizman added that the war is unlikely to last beyond April because Iran's threats are likely to be neutralized by then and major combat operations are unlikely to end this week as well.

Here's the closing market snapshot:

(Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss)

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