Stocks Slip as Talks on Ending War Near

Stocks drifted mostly lower on Wall Street and oil prices slipped Friday ahead of planned US-Iran talks following a shaky ceasefire agreement.

• The Dow fell 269.23 points, or 0.6%, to 47,916.57, ending the week up 3%.
• The S&P 500 fell 7.77 points, or 0.1%, to 6,816.89, rising 3.6% for the week.
• The Nasdaq rose 80.48 points, or 0.4%, to 22,902.89, closing the week 4.7% higher.

Trading has reflected optimism that the war with Iran could be heading toward a resolution, the AP reports; Vice President JD Vance has left for negotiations in Pakistan. The benchmark S&P 500 has erased most of its losses from March and is just 2.3% short of its all-time high set in January. The market is still prone to big swings on developments around the war, with oil prices have been behind many of the stock market's sharp movements. They've risen sharply as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz essentially stalled since the war began.

The conflict is behind surging inflation in the US in March. The government reported the biggest spike in inflation in four years as prices at the gas pump jumped. On Friday, most companies in the S&P 500 lost ground, with health care and financial company stocks driving much of the decline. Eli Lilly and Co. fell 1.6%, and Charles Schwab closed 2.5% lower. Technology stocks with hefty values helped offset losses elsewhere. Nvidia rose 2.6%, and Broadcom rose 4.7%.