Stocks Drift Higher Ahead of Trump's Iran Deadline

The US stock market drifted higher Monday in tentative trading ahead of a deadline President Trump has set to bomb Iranian power plants.

• The S&P 500 rose 29.14 points, or 0.4%, to 6,611.83.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 165.21 points, or 0.4%, to 46,669.88.
• The Nasdaq composite rose 117.16 points, or 0.5%, to 21,996.34.

Like stock indexes, oil prices seesawed through the day amid continued uncertainty about what will happen in the war with Iran and how long it will slow the global flow of crude oil, the AP reports. Trump warned again he will bomb Iran's power plants if it doesn't open the Strait of Hormuz. Iran rejected the latest ceasefire proposal and instead said it wants a permanent end to the war.

Monday also offered the first chance for US stock prices to react to a report from Friday that said US employers hired more workers last month than economists expected. The unemployment rate unexpectedly improved. They're encouraging signals for an economy that's had to absorb painful leaps in costs for gasoline since the war's beginning. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is nearly $4.12 across the country, according to AAA. It was below $3 a couple days before the United States and Israel launched attacks to begin the war in late February.

• The price for a barrel of benchmark US crude rose 0.8% Monday to settle at $112.41 after erasing an earlier modest dip. Brent crude, the international standard, added 0.8% to $109.77 per barrel and remains well above its roughly $70 price from before the war.

On Wall Street, a split performance for the Big Tech stocks that dominate the US market kept things in check. Apple rose 1.1%, and Amazon added 1.4%. Tesla slid 2.2%, and Microsoft fell 0.2%. Bank stocks were strong, including a 1.3% rise for JPMorgan Chase. CEO Jamie Dimon said in his annual letter to shareholders released on Monday that the U.S. economy continues to be resilient, and businesses still look healthy. He, though, also acknowledged that prices for stocks and other assets are high, which could imply "anything less than positive outcomes could have a dramatic impact on global markets."