Good morning. There was a lot of conflicting news on Iran yesterday, mostly focused on the nuclear issue. In the end the S&P 500, S&P equal-weight and the Russell 2000 all fell around 0.7%. Once again a rise in yields was a primary driver as rates rose 6-8bp across the curve. Brent November crude traded between $104-$109 before settling ~$105.25, up 1%. Consumer Staples, Healthcare and Energy were the only sectors higher while Comm Services (META giving back some of its recent big gains), Discretionary and Financials led lower.

President Trump eventually provided some clarity when he denied he was weighing sanctions relief in return for ‘concrete’ steps over Iran’s nuclear program. The back and forth news flow continues, however. S&P futures are modestly higher and near best levels with yields and oil modestly lower and the Yankees-Red Sox playoff game several hours away. While sanctions relief for Iran may not be coming, the Atlantic reported that Trump would back relief for Russia. That has helped push oil lower. There are a few earnings reports out. Carmax is up 5% in the pre-market after strong top and bottom beats along with lower provisions in its finance business. JEF is around flat after the bank reported strength in Equity Underwriting (+69%), equity trading +29%, offset by weakness in Fixed Income and Asset Management. Smart-ring maker Oura became the latest company to delay its IPO due to market uncertainty, while Anthropic’s S-1 has leaked according to multiple reports. OpenAI’s Developer conference is today- the company scraped the release of its latest model on safety concerns- and a number tech executives will meet with Trump around noon to discuss the technology formerly known as AI (‘Super Intelligence).

Yields are flat to slightly lower as Treasuries see a modest bid across most of the curve. The US Dollar Index is higher, however. There’s a lot of Fed speakers today and JOLTS and Consumer Confidence will be the main data releases after the Open. Crude is ~2% lower this morning with November Brent at its LOD. The Saudis restarted exports from the East-West pipeline. Dutch natural gas is sharply lower as it continues to pull back from its highs. Precious metals are mixed with gold up modestly after yesterday’s weakness. Ag is mixed and Crypto is up as Bitcoin bounces between $82.5K - $85.0K.