Stocks Pull Back as Ceasefire Prospects Dim, Energy Stocks Still Up

The prospects of a ceasefire in the Middle East have dimmed after a series of comments by President Donald Trump. Trump said he was looking for a permanent end to the conflict instead of a ceasefire, which is being interpreted by many that the strikes on Iran may continue for longer than what the market previously thought.

He has also posted on Truth Social, saying he has not reached out for peace talks and said in another post that Iran should’ve taken the deal he offered earlier.

The stock market has pulled back as a result, but many energy stocks are still up. Crude oil futures have gained almost 3% today due to a perceived escalation in the Middle East. Solar stocks have also declined due to the Senate backing an end to tax credits.

Here’s a market update as of 11:30 AM (ET) today.

• The S&P 500 is down 21.53 points, or 0.36%.
• The Nasdaq Composite is down 76.69 points, or 0.38%.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 86.42 points, or 0.2%.

Energy Stocks Gain

The S&P 500 Energy sector is up 1.3% and the S&P 500 Real Estate sector is up 0.11%. All other sectors are still in the red due to Wall Street’s focus on the Middle East. Companies with exposure to oil and gas prices stand to benefit from further conflict escalation, especially if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked. There have been reports of a tanker collision in the area, though it does not appear to be linked to the ongoing conflict.

• Hess Corp (NYSE: HES) is up 2.2%.
• Valero Energy Corp (NYSE: VLO) is up 2.2%.
• Baker Hughes Co (NASDAQ: BKR) is up 2%.
• Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) is up 1.5%.
• Chevron (NYSE: CVX) is up 2.1%.

Notable Losers Today

The biggest losers today are mostly solar companies.

• Sunrun (NASDAQ: RUN) is down 40.8% due to the Senate backing an end to tax credits.
• SolarEdge Technologies (NYSE: SEDG) is down 36.6%.
• Enphase Energy (NASDAQ: ENPH) is down 24%.
• Dyne Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: DYN) is down 19.1% after a clinical trial revision.
• Redwire Corp (NYSE: RDW) is down 18.2% after the pricing of an enlarged public offering of $200 million worth of common stock.

FTCI, SGRY, BUR, BLDP, and USAR are also down by double digits.

Notable Gainers Today

• Verve Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: VERV) is up 76.4% due to the company being acquired by Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY). The news has lifted many other gene-editing stocks.]
• Digital Turbine Inc (NASDAQ: APPS) is up 54.5% due to solid Q4 earnings. It reported Q1 EPS of $0.1 vs. estimates of $0.04. Revenue came in at $119.2 million vs. the $116.21 million consensus.
• PureCycle Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: PCT) is up 22.4% due to the company securing $300 million to fund global expansion.
• Fluence Energy Inc (NASDAQ: FLNC) is up 16.6% as the stock is recovering from a significant decline in the past year.
• LiveWire Group Inc (NYSE: LVWR) is up 17.2% as it recovers from an earlier decline due to a board member’s resignation.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©samxmeg / E+ via Getty Images.