-- US equity indexes rose this week as Iran peace talks remained on schedule following Israeli attacks on Lebanon and a restricted Strait of Hormuz, and red-hot March inflation report came in line with expectations.
* The S&P 500 closed at 6,816.89 on Friday versus 6,582.69 a week ago. The Nasdaq Composite stood at about 22,902.89, compared with 21,829.18 a week earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 47,916.57, versus 46,504.67 at the end of last week.
* Industrials, communication services, and consumer cyclicals topped sector charts this week, while energy was the sole decliner. Geopolitical risk came off the boil as the US-Iran ceasefire pact included a reopening of Hormuz, a chokepoint to about a fifth of global crude oil flows.
* President Donald Trump asked Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back attacks on Lebanon after Wednesday's strikes killed more than 250 people and injured hundreds, threatening the ceasefire, according to the Wall Street Journal.
* Peace talks are scheduled for Saturday in Islamabad amid threats and preconditions set by the US, Israel, and Iran on the eve, including improved flow of maritime traffic from Hormuz. Vice President JD Vance will lead a team of US negotiators, including Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, to the talks.
* Vance, before setting off for the high-stakes talks, said Washington is "willing to extend the open hand" in this weekend's negotiations but warned Tehran not to "try to play us," The Wall Street Journal reported.
* On the economic data front, investors were focused mainly on the inflation data. The personal consumption expenditures price index for February was mostly in line, but did not reflect the impact of the Iran war on crude oil prices. The consumer price index at 0.9%, as expected, accelerated to its highest monthly reading in almost four years in March as the Middle East conflict sent energy prices sharply higher.