U.S. Stocks Move Mostly Higher, Adding To Last Week's Strong Gains

(RTTNews) - Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Monday but largely maintained a positive bias before ending the day mostly higher. With the upward move, the major averages added to the strong gains posted last week.
The major averages finished the day not far off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq advanced 117.16 points or 0.5 percent to 21,996.34, the S&P 500 climbed 29.14 points or 0.4 percent to 6,611.83 and the Dow rose 165.21 points or 0.4 percent to 46,669.88.
While the positive momentum from last week carried over, traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves amid uncertainty about the U.S. war with Iran following President Donald Trump's latest threats.
In an expletive-laden Truth Social post Easter Sunday morning, Trump once again threatened to attack Iran's power plants and bridges unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened by 8 pm ET on Tuesday.
Crude oil prices initially extended last Thursday's spike in reaction to Trump's comments but have given back ground since then amid reports of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran about a potential ceasefire.
A report from Axios citing four U.S., Israeli and regional sources said the U.S., Iran and a group of regional mediators are discussing the terms for a potential 45-day ceasefire that could lead to a permanent end to the war.
Reuters also reported that the U.S. and Iran are weighing ?the framework of a plan to end the five-week-old conflict but noted Tehran has pushed back against pressure to swiftly reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
A source aware of the proposals told Reuters the Pakistani-brokered plan calls for an immediate ceasefire, followed by negotiations on a broader peace settlement to be concluded within 15 to 20 days.
However, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran won't reopen the Strait of Hormuz as part of a temporary ceasefire, nor would it accept deadlines or pressure to reach a deal.
A White House official told CNBC that Trump has "not signed off" on the 45-day ceasefire proposal, although the president was not willing to provide much detail about the talks during a White House press conference this afternoon. Sector News
Despite the advance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day.
Retail stocks showed a notable move to the upside, however, with the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index climbing by 1.1 percent.
Transportation, semiconductor and brokerage stocks also saw some strength on the day, while pharmaceutical stocks moved to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Monday, with most markets closed for holidays. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while South Korea's Kospi jumped by 1.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets were closed on Monday in celebration of Easter Monday.
In the bond market, treasuries climbed off their worst levels but remained in negative territory. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 2.2 basis points to 4.335 percent.
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