TRADING DAY-US stocks gain, dollar dips on hopes for Iran war negotiations

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, April 13 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rallied to close sharply higher on Monday as hopes for de-escalation in the Middle East helped investors look past the failed U.S.-Iran talks and focus on the start of first-quarter earnings season. I will go into more detail on today's market moves below. If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened. I'd love to hear from you, so please reach out to me with comments at And before you read on, don't forget to sign up for Jamie McGeever's upcoming LSEG webinar on April 23, where I'll talk safe havens in uncertain times with my ROI colleague Mike Dolan. Today's Key Market Moves

* STOCKS: European stocks close lower as Iran war weighs on sentiment, U.S. stocks stage late-session rally on signs of progress in peace negotiations

* SECTORS/SHARES: Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, nine closed higher, with financials and tech shares out front

* FX: The dollar fades for sixth straight session as Strait of Hormuz blockade takes effect

* BONDS: Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields edged lower in choppy trading

* COMMODITIES/METALS: Oil pares gains to settle below $100 per barrel, gold moves nominally lower

* COLUMN: Wall Street's earnings fantasies may soon get harsh reality check

Today's Key Reads

1. The U.S. military says it would block all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iran's ports

2. Crude oil jumps back above $100 per barrel

3. Hungarian election winner Peter Magyar vows constitutional change, renewed EU ties

4. Goldman Sachs beats quarterly profit expectations, but shares fall on fixed income weakness

5. Pope Leo tells Reuters he plans to continue speaking out against war after Trump's attack

Today's Talking Points

* Are AI disruption fears overplayed?

The S&P 500 software & services index has taken a beating of late, falling 23.5% so far this year on fears that artificial intelligence technology could cause major disruption in this group of stocks, which includes Oracle, Salesforce (CRM) and Intuit, among others. But the index was among Monday's clear outperformers, rising 4.6% by the closing bell.

* Earnings

First-quarter earnings season begins in earnest this week, with big banks taking the spotlight. Analysts now expect aggregate year-on-year S&P 500 earnings growth of 13.9%, down from a forecast of 14.4% on April 1, according to LSEG data.

* Inflation/gasoline prices

President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that the price of oil and gasoline could remain elevated through the midterm election as a result of his decision to attack Iran. In Friday's consumer sentiment press release, Joanne Hsu, Director of Consumer Surveys for the University of Michigan, flagged spiking gasoline prices as one contributing factor that weighed the index to a record low.

What could move markets tomorrow?

* Developments in the Middle East

* U.S. producer prices (March)

* U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers scheduled to speak: Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, Fed Governor Michael Barr, Boston Fed President Susan Collins, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin, Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson

* JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo post Q1 results

* Japan Industrial output (February)

* India WPI inflation (March)

* March CPI reports for Finland, Sweden, Spain, others

* South Korea international trade (March) Want to receive Trading Day in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for my newsletter here. Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

(By Stephen Culp; Editing by Nia Williams)