Daily News
Trump Rejects Iran's Counteroffer as Oil Surges Past $100 and Peace Talks Stall
11 May 2026
Today in Brief
Peace talks between the U.S. and Iran collapsed further after Trump rejected Tehran's counteroffer as "totally unacceptable," sending oil prices surging past $100 a barrel and rattling global markets. Gold slipped while Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed, with South Korea's Kospi the lone bright spot at a fresh record.
In corporate news, Cerebras looks to raise its IPO price range to $150–$160 on surging demand, Nintendo shares slumped on Switch 2 price hikes, and Nike faces a consumer lawsuit over unrefunded tariff costs.
South Korea's Kospi hits fresh record as Asia markets trade mixed amid oil surge, Iran risks
South Korea's Kospi opened at a fresh record Monday, leading gains in Asia-Pacific markets amid rising oil prices and escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran. President Donald Trump's rejection of Tehran's latest proposal to end the war, however, stoked worries over an elongated Middle East conflict. Iran submitted a new proposal to U.S. negotiators focused on ending the Middle East conflict. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said that the counteroffer called for an end to the war on all fronts and the lifting of sanctions on Tehran, citing an informed source. However, Trump said he did not like Iran's response and called it "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!" in a Truth Social Post.
S&P 500 closes at another record, notches longest weekly winning streak since 2024
U.S. equities rose on Friday following a better-than-expected April's jobs report and as traders eyed developments between the U.S. and Iran. The S&P 500 advanced 0.84% to end at 7,398.93, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.71% to 26,247.08. Both indexes hit new all-time intraday highs in the session and closed at records. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 12.19 points, or 0.02%, to settle at 49,609.16. All three major averages posted weekly gains, propelled by strong earnings. Upbeat tech earnings lifted the Nasdaq to a 4.5% climb, while the S&P 500 gained 2.3%. Both posted six straight winning weeks, marking the longest win streak since 2024 for the broad market benchmark and the tech-heavy index. The Dow Industrials lagged with a week-to-date gain of 0.2%.
Gold falls on oil-driven inflation worries as US–Iran peace talks falter
Gold prices fell in Asian trading on Monday after posting weekly gains, as surging oil prices and a stronger U.S. dollar dented bullion's appeal following President Donald Trump's rejection of Iran's response to a U.S. peace proposal. Spot gold slipped 0.8% to $4,677.82 an ounce by 21:03 ET (01:03 GMT), while U.S. Gold Futures also eased 0.8% to $4,694.34. The yellow metal climbed more than 2% last week amid U.S.-Iran peace deal hopes. President Trump described Tehran's latest response to Washington's peace framework as "totally unacceptable", dampening hopes for a near-term breakthrough in U.S.-Iran negotiations.
Oil jumps as Netanyahu and Trump remarks stoke worries of prolonged Middle East conflict
Oil prices jumped Monday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the conflict with Iran was "not over," raising fears that tensions in the Middle East could escalate again and further threatening energy supplies. U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, rejected Iran's counteroffer to end the war with the U.S. and Israel. "I have just read the response from Iran's so-called "Representatives." I don't like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!" U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures with June delivery advanced almost 5% to $100.18 per barrel as of 12:25 p.m. ET, while the international benchmark Brent crude futures with July delivery rose 4.47% to $105.82 per barrel.
Iran says it will 'never bow' as Trump rejects peace counteroffer, prolonging Middle East conflict
U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Iran's counterproposal to end the 10-week war in the Middle East, calling it "totally unacceptable," while Tehran vowed to "never bow," prolonging a standoff that has choked the Strait of Hormuz and roiled global energy markets. "I have just read the response from Iran's so-called "Representatives. I don't like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!" the president said in a Truth Social post on Sunday. Iranian state media framed Tehran's response as a rejection of the U.S. proposal, which it characterized as a demand for "surrender." In its response to the latest U.S. proposal, Tehran has insisted on war reparations, full sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, an end to sanctions, and the release of frozen Iranian assets.
Modi says Iran war poses severe risks to India, urges cuts in fuel use and gold purchases
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged citizens to curb fuel use, reduce overseas travel, and pause gold purchases, underscoring the severe impact of the Iran war on the economy. Global fuel costs have surged, Modi said in a public address in the southern city of Hyderabad, appealing to Indians to use public transport, work from home, and carpool to conserve fuel. India is the latest among the growing number of Asian countries encouraging lower fuel consumption as energy costs climb amid tensions in the Middle East. On Sunday, President Donald Trump said Iran's counterproposal to end the war with the U.S. and Israel was "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!", dashing hopes of peace and pushing global oil prices higher.
China inflation beat estimates in April as Iran war drives producer prices to three-year highs
China's producer prices rose at their fastest pace in more than three years in April, while consumer inflation also beat forecasts, as Iran war-driven commodity costs and holiday spending delivered a broader reflationary boost to the economy. Consumer prices ticked up 1.2% in April from a year earlier, beating economists' estimates of 0.9% growth in a Reuters poll, and accelerating from a 1% rise in March, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. The producer price index jumped 2.8% from a year ago, the highest since July 2022, beating economists' forecast of 1.6%, and accelerating sharply from 0.5% in March, according to LSEG data.
UK PM Starmer says he plans to remain in office despite crushing local elections defeat
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated on Saturday that he plans to remain in office despite his ruling Labour Party suffering among its worst local election losses in decades. "I'm not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos," Starmer told the BBC. "I think the right thing to do is to rebuild and show the path forward." The anti-immigration Reform U.K. party made sweeping gains in local councils in England, mainly at the expense of Labour, while the pro-independence Plaid Cymru party won the most seats in the Welsh parliament, overturning decades of Labour rule. The Scottish National Party took the most seats in Scotland's devolved parliament. Growth and living standards have stagnated in recent years, and Labour have faced growing public anger at the slow pace of economic reforms.
Ambani's Jio Platforms IPO pivots to pure fundraising, no investor exits
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio Platforms has pivoted to a pure fundraising for its planned Mumbai listing, selling a 2.5% stake in the offering and dropping earlier plans that would have allowed some shareholders to exit, two sources said. Indian billionaire Ambani's Jio Platforms, which owns the world's second-largest telecom company by users after China Mobile, counts Meta, Alphabet's Google and Vista Equity Partners among its investors. "Investors were not keen to sell and wanted to stay invested for the long term," one of the sources said. The firm earlier held discussions with its foreign investors for each to sell 8% of their individual holdings in the IPO, Reuters previously reported. The IPO was earlier set to be an offer-for-sale, meaning no new fundraising was planned and only existing investors would have exited as the company went public.
Nike sued by consumers for not refunding tariff costs
Nike was sued on Friday by consumers who accused the athletic apparel and footwear maker of not refunding tariff-related costs it passed on in the form of higher prices. In a proposed class action, consumers said Nike should not be allowed to keep "significant" refunds it can expect after the U.S. Supreme Court in February struck down sweeping tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The Beaverton, Oregon-based company has said it paid about $1 billion in tariffs on imported goods as a result of Trump's actions. Consumers said Nike raised prices on some footwear by $5 to $10 and some apparel by $2 to $10 to offset the costs. "Nike has made no legally binding commitment to return tariff-related overcharges to the consumers who actually paid them," the complaint said.
Cerebras to raise IPO price range to $150-$160 as demand surges, sources say
Cerebras Systems is set to raise the size and price of its initial public offering as soon as Monday, as demand for the artificial intelligence chipmaker's shares continues to climb, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday. The company is considering a new IPO price range of $150-$160 a share, up from $115-$125 a share, and raising the number of shares marketed to 30 million from 28 million, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the information isn't public yet. At the top of the new range, Cerebras would raise roughly $4.8 billion, up from $3.5 billion under its original terms, though the figures remain subject to change before pricing, the people said.
Nintendo shares slump as price hikes, games shortfall spook market
Nintendo's shares fell 7% in Tokyo on Monday after the company hiked Switch 2 prices and as the market frets over a lack of high-profile games to build momentum. Nintendo posted robust hardware sales for the financial year ended March but, while the company is known for its conservative forecasts, its outlook for this year underwhelmed the market. The Kyoto-based firm extended the life of the original Switch with games from franchises such as "The Legend of Zelda" and, while it has scored hits such as "Pokemon Pokopia", it is seen as lacking potential blockbusters. "The year-on-year decline in game shipment guidance risks signaling that Nintendo lacks confidence in its pipeline," Morningstar analyst Kazunori Ito wrote in a note. "However, as user engagement typically accelerates in the second year of a console cycle, we view this as too pessimistic," he wrote.
