Wall Street mixed with Trump’s ME decision in focus

NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes were mixed in choppy trading on Friday, as inflation concerns and uncertainty around US involvement in the Iran-Israel war offset relief over President Donald Trump holding back from any immediate action.

Trump will take a call in the next two weeks on whether to involve the US military in the conflict, the White House said on Thursday, as hostilities between the two Middle Eastern countries approached their second week. Markets have been on edge as Trump has kept the world guessing on his plans – veering from proposing a swift diplomatic solution to suggesting the US might join the fight as Israel aims to suppress Tehran’s ability to build nuclear weapons.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters Tehran was ready to discuss limitations on its uranium enrichment. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has arrived in Geneva to meet European counterparts who are hoping to establish a path back to diplomacy.

“Markets are looking for the next bullish catalyst … until then, investors are still in wait-and-see mode,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York. Concerns about price pressures in the US were also in focus after Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday warned inflation could pick up pace over the summer as the economic effects of Trump’s steep import tariffs kick in. They kept interest rates unchanged.

On Friday, Fed governor Chris Waller said the central bank should consider cutting rates at its next meeting given recent tame inflation data and because any price shock from tariffs will be short-lived.

At 11:39 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 154.39 points, or 0.37%, to 42,323.97, the S&P 500 gained 3.14 points, or 0.05%, to 5,984.01 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 49.32 points, or 0.25%, to 19,496.95. Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose.