Stocks Down Pre-Bell as Trump Rejects Iran's Peace Proposal; Inflation, Labor Market Data on Deck

07:01 AM EDT, 09/28/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Benchmark US stock measures pointed lower before the opening bell Monday as President Donald Trump rejected Iran's latest peace proposal, while traders await a key inflation report and fresh labor market data later in the week. The S&P 500 declined 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.3% and the Nasdaq fell 0.9% in premarket activity. All three main indexes finished Friday trading with weekly gains. Trump has turned down Iran's seven-day ceasefire proposal that included reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming nuclear talks, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing US officials. Trump also told his administration that he expects to resume strikes on Iran after the midterm elections in November, according to the report. Trump confirmed on Saturday that he had rejected Iran's proposal. "They made a proposal but I rejected it," Trump told reporters, according to CNBC. Trump told Axios on Sunday that he expects US negotiators to engage in more talks with Iran this week. Last week, US and Iranian negotiators were reportedly in discussions about a phased path out of their conflict, with Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Washington lifting its economic blockade of Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 3.4% to $95.51 a barrel Monday, while Brent increased 3.7% to $108.19. In remarks emailed to MT Newswires on Friday, Oxford Economics said the surge in diesel prices is the "main upside risk" to the inflation outlook, which may keep the Federal Reserve hawkish. "Higher diesel and freight expenses risk bleeding into core inflation by raising the cost of producing and transporting consumer goods," according to Lead US Economist Bernard Yaros. The average diesel price has jumped to $6.4531 per gallon on Monday from $5.6105 a month ago, according to data from AAA, a motoring and travel organization that tracks fuel prices nationwide. Treasury yields trended higher early Monday, with the two-year rate advancing 5.6 basis points to 4.92% and the 10-year rate adding 4.9 basis points to 5.23%. The personal income and outlays report for August is scheduled for release on Wednesday. The report includes the personal consumption expenditure core price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric. Traders will also be looking ahead to the latest labor data this week, beginning with the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for August on Tuesday, followed by September's ADP employment report on Wednesday. The Challenger Job Cut and the government's nonfarm payrolls data, both for the current month, are due on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Jefferies said in a note that it expects the US economy to add more than 175,000 nonfarm payroll jobs this month. "Our broad view on the labor market remains intact," Jefferies Chief US Economist Thomas Simons wrote. "Conditions have improved substantially from the middle of 2025." Monday's thin economic calendar has the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey for September at 10:30 am ET. Nvidia (NVDA) shares edged down 0.3% pre-bell as the tech bellwether launched an open software platform and reference system design to strengthen artificial intelligence security. Micron Technology (MU), Accenture (ACN), Nike (NKE), Jabil (JBL) and Carnival (CCL, CUK) are some of the major companies scheduled to release their latest financial results this week. Jefferies Financial (JEF) posts its earnings after the markets close Monday. Gold dropped 3.4% to $4,175 per troy ounce, while bitcoin declined 2.2% to $82,884.