(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 9 apr - US shares were trading higher, erasing previous losses, as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to direct talks with Lebanon, increasing hopes that the 2-week ceasefire agreed to by the US and Iran can be fully implemented.

Wall Street rebounded sharply yesterday after the announcement of the deal to pause hostilities in the Iran war ahead of talks on a more lasting truce later this week.

But late Wednesday, Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Washington had violated the agreement through Israel's continued attacks on Lebanon, a drone entry into Iranian airspace and the denial of the Islamic Republic's right to enrich uranium.

In consequence Tehran again halted the passage of tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil trade that has been shut for weeks amid hostilities.

Meanwhile the latest print of the PCE index, the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of price pressures, showed that inflation in February, before hostilities with Iran broke out, remained sticky, signalling the Fed is likely to stay pat on interest rates.

Yesterday, minutes from the Fed's latest policy meeting showed that officials expect higher crude prices to raise inflation in the near term, delaying a return to its 2% goal.

At 1726 GMT, the Dow Jones was up 366.27 points, or 0.76%, at 48,276.19 points.

The S&P 500 was 48.31 points, or 0.71%, higher at 6,831.12 points.

The Nasdaq was gaining 184.96 points, or 0.82%, at 22,819.54.

points.

(RADIOCOR) 09-04-26 19:35:51 (0723) 5 NNNN