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S&P 500 PUSHES TOWARD NINTH WEEKLY RISE AS AI STOCKS LIFT WALL STREET

Wall Street's main indexes are higher early on Tuesday, catching up after a public holiday, as optimism in AI-related stocks offsets some concerns over Middle East peace talks following recent U.S. strikes on Iran.

Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran is seeking the release of $24 billion of Iranian funds frozen overseas in the deal that's being negotiated with the U.S.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday the deal could "take a few days," while President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday that talks with Iran were going "nicely."

A majority of S&P 500 .SPX sectors are gaining ground with tech .SPLRCT, industrials .SPLRCI and materials .SPLRCM, all up more than 1%, the leading gainers. Staples .SPLRCS, off more than 1%, is the weakest group. Energy .SPNY is also on the losing side.

Under the surface, mid caps .MID, regional banks KRX, small caps .RUT, transports .DJT, gold/silver miners .XAU, and chips .SOX are outperforming early in the session. Software & Services .SPLRCIS is ticking red.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is attempting to rise for a ninth week in a row. The benchmark index last rose nine straight weeks in December 2023.

Here is a snapshot of where markets stood shortly before 10 a.m. EDT:

(Terence Gabriel)

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