(Updates to afternoon US trading)
*
Oil retreats after previous week's surge
*
U.S. Steel up as Trump approves $14.9 bln Nippon Steel ( NISTF ) bid
*
Fed expected to keep interest rates unchanged this week
*
Indexes up: Dow 0.79%, S&P 500 0.92%, Nasdaq 1.48%
*
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks climbed on
Monday, as oil prices retreated after the Israel-Iran attacks
left crude production and exports unaffected, easing investor
concerns about the potential for higher energy prices to stoke
inflation.
Crude prices were down nearly 2% on hopes a truce
was on the horizon between Israel and Iran after days of missile
strikes, as Iran called on U.S. President Donald Trump to force
a ceasefire in the four-day-old aerial war, while Israel's prime
minister said his country was on the "path to victory."
Oil prices had surged more than 7% on Friday after Israel
began bombing Iran.
Tehran has asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press Trump to
use his influence with Israel to agree to an immediate
ceasefire, in return for Iran's flexibility in nuclear
negotiations, sources told Reuters.
"Well, it's certainly breathing a sigh of relief because if
the rumor is true that Iran is waving the white flag, they
realized that they got beaten up," said Ken Polcari, chief
market strategist at SlateStone Wealth in Jupiter, Florida.
"It could absolutely change in the next hour, which is why
the market's a little bit cautious - yes it's up, yes it's kind
of celebrating, but anything certainly could change in the next
hour."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 332.62 points,
or 0.79%, to 42,530.41, the S&P 500 gained 55.16 points,
or 0.92%, to 6,032.13 and the Nasdaq Composite gained
286.81 points, or 1.48%, to 19,693.63.
Investors are also awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve's
monetary policy decision on Wednesday, when policymakers are
widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged.
Money markets are largely not expecting the Fed to cut rates
until September, pricing in a 61.1% chance for a cut of at least
25 basis points, according to LSEG data.
Economic data expected this week includes monthly retail
sales, import prices and weekly jobless claims.
Tech led S&P sector gains while utilities were the
worst performer.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index jumped about
3%, led by a surge of more than 9% in Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD )
after Piper Sandler raised its price target on the
chipmaker.
UPS and FedEx ( FDX ) edged up about 1% after the Trump
Organization launched a self-branded mobile network, dubbed
Trump Mobile, and named the companies as shipping partners.
Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics ( SRPT ) plummeted more than 40%
after the company disclosed a second case of a patient dying due
to acute liver failure after receiving its gene therapy for a
rare form of muscular dystrophy.
U.S. Steel rose 5.1% after Trump approved Nippon Steel's ( NISTF )
$14.9 billion bid for the company.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.29-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 2.2-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 16 new 52-week highs and five new lows,
while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 74 new highs and 96 new
lows.