U.S. equity futures rose early Monday after President Donald Trump called off planned strikes against Iran, sending oil prices lower in the first trading day of the new month. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 686 points, or nearly 1.3%. S&P 500 futures
advanced 0.6%, and Nasdaq-100 futures ticked up 0.3%. Trump said Sunday he canceled a planned attack on Iran, adding that talks between the two countries would resume Monday. U.S. media reports on Friday said the president was gearing up for a new wave of strikes as hopes for a negotiated settlement to the war diminished and energy prices surged. Crude prices tumbled in response. Brent oil lost about 6% to trade at $82.95 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures shed nearly 7% to $78.93 per barrel. Treasury yields also fell as worries around inflation dimmed slightly. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield slid 7 basis points to about 4.67%. That said, “investors are keeping their enthusiasm in check as ‘we’ve been here before,’ and it’s likely the conflict has furthered to go before reaching a resolution (if it ever does),” wrote Vital Knowledge founder Adam Crisafulli. Monday marks the first trading day of August, with the major averages looking to stabilize after a volatile July. Investors will also have a full slate of labor market data to digest this week, culminating on Friday with July’s closely-watched non-farm payrolls and unemployment figures on Friday. The U.S. economy is expected to have added 87,500 nonfarm payrolls in July, up from 57,000 jobs the previous month, according to FactSet consensus estimates. The unemployment rate is also set to edge higher, to 4.3% from 4.2%. Asia-Pacific markets ended mixed on Monday. South Korea’s Kospi fell over 5%, giving up some of the gains from Friday after clocking its best day on record. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.94%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.47% higher. Mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.98%. Gold ​prices gained on Monday ​as the dollar weakened and ​optimism over a possible U.S.-Iran agreement sent oil prices sharply lower, tempering inflation fears and expectations of prolonged high interest rates. Spot gold was up 0.4% at $4,055.36 per ounce. U.S. gold futures edged 0.2% higher to $4,054.20. ⁠The precious metal posted its first monthly rise in five in July, rising about 1%.