Thursday, May 28, 2026
[4:10 PM ET…closing prices for stocks; 3:50ish for commodities and bonds]
Tale of the Tape at the gas pump, nationwide averages, courtesy of AAA.
Fri. Feb. 27…regular $2.98…diesel $3.75
Thurs., May 28…reg. $4.42…diesel $5.55
We learned this afternoon that, according to multiple reports, U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement to extend the ceasefire in the 3-month-old war by 60 days and launch talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
But President Trump still had to sign off on the emerging memorandum of understanding, and it wasn’t clear if Iran’s supreme leader had signed off. [As I go to post, Trump hasn’t posted anything on Truth Social today…but at 4:00 PM there are reports of military action in Iran.]
Earlier on Thursday the U.S. military accused Iran of violating the ceasefire after Kuwait reported coming under attack following an American strike against Iran; the latest flare-up of fighting to threaten ongoing negotiations to end the war.
Details of the tentative agreement were first reported by Axios, which said Trump has asked for “a couple of days” to think about the deal.
Of course, we have heard talk of an agreement multiple times before – only for the stalemate to drag on.
That said, Fada-Hossein Maleki, an Iranian lawmaker and member of the country’s parliamentary commission for national security, said the negotiations have shown “significant progress” and that the U.S. has accepted most of Iran’s demands, according to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency.
The memorandum of understanding apparently states that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would be “unrestricted,” Axios reported. Iran would have to remove all mines from the Strait within 30 days.
Tensions nonetheless deepened further as Israel conducted an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut, and other strikes in the southern coastal city of Tyre, killing at least 14.
Oil had been rising early this morning on the news Iran had attacked Kuwait, but then fell on the report of an imminent extension of the ceasefire and reopening of the Strait.
We did have a slew of economic data today, headlined by the April personal consumption expenditures report (PCE), the Fed’s preferred inflation barometer, and the numbers were essentially in line with expectations…0.4% on headline (vs. an expected 0.5%), but 3.8% year-over-year; 0.2% ex-food and energy, but 3.3% vs. a year ago, the Y/Y figures as forecast, which isn’t great news, seeing as the Fed’s target for core is 2%.
But bond yields, which like oil were rising this morning, fell back on the Iran talk.
Among other economic data released today we also had a second look at first-quarter GDP, 1.6%, less than the first look of 2.0%.
And Freddie Mac’s 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, released Thursdays, came in at 6.53%, up two basis points from last week and the highest since last August, which should be a short-term peak, as yields have been sliding.
—
Dow Jones +24…+0.1% [50668…record]
S&P 500 +43…+0.6% [7563…record]
Nasdaq +242…+0.9% [26917…record]
Oil (WTI) $89.30…Brent $94.00
Gold $4500
Silver $75.60
Bitcoin $73,300 [4:00 PM ET…has sucked since hitting $81,000 recently…]
U.S. 2-yr. 4.02%
U.S. 10-yr. 4.45%
Japanese 10-yr. 2.68%…unch today….
Check out my Week in Review, posted Fridays around 4:30 PM ET.
Have a good weekend.
Brian Trumbore
*Please support StocksandNews…there are huge costs behind it. Click on the GoFundMe link or send a check to PO Box 990, New Providence, NJ 07974.
*I’ve also added ZELLE: use Zelle recipient briannovak24@gmail.com.
