James Gruber

It's now time for the watch list.

In Australia, there are plenty of quarterly updates from ASX companies scheduled today, including Fortescue, Mervac, Newmont, PLS Group, Perseus Mining and Sandfire Resources.

The Purchasing Managers Index will also be released.

In the US, first quarter earnings season is in full swing.

Tesla is reporting aftermarket this morning.

Later results include American Express, Blackstone, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Willis Tower Watson, Gilead Sciences and Intel.

And now it's time for our one more thing segment.

In the past 24 US presidential cycles since 1929, the S&P 500 rose by an average 3.3% in the second year of the cycle, well below the average 10% per annum return through that time, with only 54% of those years posting a positive return.

Year-to-date so far, the S&P 500 is up 4.3%, so it's tracking well versus history so far.

And that's it for today.

The ComSec Media and Markets team is monitoring developments on today's local trading session, so check out our afternoon episode of the podcast for all the key updates.

I'm James Gruber.

Have a great day.

US-Iran talks no closer as the ceasefire deadline looms, share markets fall while oil surges on the latest news, and a closer look at the war's long-term toll on Middle East infrastructure.

Hello, good morning.

I'm James Gruber.

It's Tuesday, the 21st of April, and this is the morning edition of the ComSec Market Update.

Well, the US and Iran are still courting each other with planned peace negotiations while continuing to bomb and attack one another behind the scenes.

The latest developments are that Iran is considering attending peace talks with the US in Pakistan.

That follows moves by Pakistan to end a US blockade of Iran's ports.