Financial Markets                      04/10 09:33

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks wavered on Wall Street Friday and oil prices held 
steady amid a shaky ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

   The S&P 500 rose 0.1% in morning trading and is heading for a second 
consecutive winning week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 212 points, or 
0.4%, as of 9:56 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.6%.

   Major indexes have been gaining ground over the last two weeks amid optimism 
that the war with Iran could be heading toward a resolution. The market is 
still prone to big swings on developments around the war.

   Oil prices have been behind many of the stock market's sharp movements. Oil 
prices have surged as shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz essentially 
stalled since the war began.

   Brent oil, the international standard, has gone from roughly $70 per barrel 
before the war in late February to more than $119 at times. Brent rose 0.1% to 
$96 Friday.

   U.S. crude oil prices rose 0.4% to $98.27 per barrel.

   Negotiators from Iran and the U.S. are preparing for high-level talks on 
Saturday. The situation remains uncertain. Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news 
agency claimed that talks wouldn't happen unless Israel stopped its attacks in 
Lebanon.

   The conflict is behind surging inflation in the U.S. in March. The 
government reported the biggest spike in inflation in four years as prices at 
the gas pump jumped. But, the inflation increase was just short of what 
economists expected.

   Markets in Asia and Europe gained ground.

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