U.S. Stocks Open Mixed as Market Digests Progress in U.S.-Iran Peace Talks

The three major U.S. stock indices opened mixed as the market digested progress in peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, including a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

As of 9:56 a.m. (local time) on June 22, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 51,829.53, up 264.83 points (0.51%) from the previous session at the New York Stock Exchange.

The S&P 500 index rose 19.92 points (0.27%) to 7,520.50, while the Nasdaq Composite index fell 17.73 points (0.07%) to 26,500.21.

The progress made in the U.S.-Iran peace agreement acted as a bullish factor for the market.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance commented on the MOU talks with Iran, stating, "We have laid a very good foundation for a successful final agreement," and added, "Working-level talks will continue over the coming days and weeks."

He also claimed that Iran has agreed to invite International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear inspectors back, with discussions on the matter potentially beginning as early as this week, or even today.

However, the market's upside remains limited as investors show caution ahead of Micron Technology's earnings report and the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, both due later this week.

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said, "The market has been recovering over the past few weeks on hopes that the Middle East conflict could be resolved and that a high-inflation environment would not emerge," adding, "However, the Middle East conflict is still ongoing, which means investors will not fully embrace a risk-on sentiment."

By sector, technology and industrials showed strength, while telecommunications and energy were weak.

Apogee Therapeutics shares surged 46.80% after AbbVie announced it would acquire the company for $10.9 billion in cash.

Micron shares were trading 4.65% higher ahead of its earnings report on June 24.

Bernstein raised its price target for Micron to $1,300, while Needham increased its target to $1,550.

Alphabet shares fell 3.90%.

News broke that John Jumper, a researcher at Google's AI lab DeepMind, is leaving Google to join Anthropic.

This news comes just days after it was announced that Noam Shazeer, a vice president of engineering at Google, is joining OpenAI.

European stock markets were generally strong.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index was trading at 6,322.67, up 0.47% from the previous session.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index and Germany's DAX index rose 0.58% and 0.47%, respectively.

France's CAC 40 index fell 0.30%.

International oil prices declined.

At the same time, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for July 2026 delivery, the near-month contract, was down 2.38% at $74.78 per barrel.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.