(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 19 mag - US shares were trading lower at midday amid ongoing tech weakness as investors kept a cautious eye on the latest developments in the US-Iran war.

In comments yesterday, president Donald Trump said he had called off military strikes against Iran scheduled Tuesday at the request of Gulf allies. 'Serious negotiations' were under way, he said, with a 'very good chance' of a deal on Iran's nuclear program.

Investors are keen to see a deal that might reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that handled roughly a fifth of global energy flows before the conflict. The Strait's closure has crimped global energy supplies, rekindling inflationary fears.

Also weighing on sentiment, worries about inflation continued to lift Treasury yields as uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will hike rates puts appetite for growth stocks at risk.

On the data front, the pending home sales index in the US rose 1.4% month on month to a reading of 74.8 in April, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said. Expectations were for pending home sales to rise by 1.0%.

At 1517 GMT, the Dow Jones was down 189.41 points, or 0.38%, at 49,497.91 points.

The S&P 500 was 47.15 points, or 0.64%, lower at 7,355.90 points.

The Nasdaq was losing 256.41 points, or 0.99%, at 25,831.81.

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(RADIOCOR) 19-05-26 17:20:50 (0580) 5 NNNN