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FINWIRES

US Equity Futures Decline Pre-Bell as Trump Orders US Blockade of Strait of Hormuz After Talks With Iran Fail

-- US equity futures were lower pre-bell on Monday after President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following the failure of US and Iran to reach an agreement in peace talks in Islamabad.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 1% lower, S&P 500 futures were down 0.6%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.6% lower.

"Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz," Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday.

Trump said that an agreement was not reached due to Iran's unwillingness to give up its nuclear ambitions, while Iran said the US had made unreasonable demands.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 7.4% at $102.26 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 7.8% higher at $104.11 per barrel.

Existing Home Sales, scheduled for release at 10 am ET, are seen declining 0.8% for March after an increase of 1.7% in the prior month, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.7% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.9% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.1% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.4%, and Germany's DAX index was lower by 1.2% in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, a number of energy firms saw stock gains as oil prices once again breached the $100 mark. Exxon Mobil (XOM) shares gained 1.6%, ConocoPhillips (COP) shares increased 2%, and Equinor (EQNR) stock rose 2.2%.

On the losing side, Best Buy (BBY) stock fell 4.5% after the company's stock was downgraded by Goldman Sachs to sell from buy.

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Intel Poised for 'Slight Beat' Amid Solid Server CPU Demand, RBC Says

Intel (INTC) is expected to report a "slight beat" in its fiscal first-quarter results amid robust server central processing unit demand, RBC Capital Markets said in a note e-mailed Tuesday.On Thursday, the chipmaker is likely to post adjusted per-share earnings and revenue above RBC's projections for breakeven and $12.20 billion, respectively, for the March quarter, according to the brokerage. The current consensus on FactSet is for non-GAAP EPS of $0.02 and sales of $12.42 billion."We expect a slight beat/raise driven by strong server CPU demand," RBC analyst Srini Pajjuri said. "(Personal computer) market also appears to be holding up for now."First-quarter revenue in the company's data center and artificial intelligence segment is pegged at $4.3 billion, representing a 3% annual gain, with room for potential upside, according to RBC."While demand remains strong, management expected internal wafer supply constraints to be most acute in (the first quarter) which could limit near-term upside," Pajjuri wrote. "Recent media reports point to Intel raising prices which should help."For the current quarter, RBC expects Intel to issue an outlook above Wall Street's estimates of $13.1 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of $0.09, driven by server CPU demand and improving wafer supply.The data center and AI business is projected to see sequential growth of 10% in the second quarter, with RBC seeing potential upside amid improving supply and healthy pricing. The brokerage expects server demand to continue to benefit from agentic AI and sees industry supply remaining "tight" through 2026, it said in the note.RBC maintained its sector perform rating on Intel's stock with a $48 price target.The company's shares were up 0.3% in Tuesday afternoon trade, bringing its year-to-gains to nearly 79%.Last year, the US government agreed to invest $8.9 billion in Intel's common stock as part of a deal to secure a stake in the company. Separately, Nvidia (NVDA) agreed to inject $5 billion in Intel under a collaboration that aims to develop new data center and PC chips.Price: $66.04, Change: $+0.34, Percent Change: +0.52%

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Australia

Scholastic Reports Preliminary Results of Dutch Auction Tender Offer

Scholastic (SCHL) on Tuesday announced preliminary results from its modified Dutch auction tender offer, which closed on Monday.The company said that shareholders tendered a total of about 2.85 million shares at or below the $40 per share purchase price, including about 1 million shares that were tendered by notice of guaranteed delivery.Based on the preliminary count, Scholastic expects to purchase all properly tendered shares at $40 each, for a total cost of about $114.1 million, excluding fees and expenses, it added.The company said that following completion of the offer, it expects nearly 17.9 million shares to remain outstanding, representing a reduction of about 13.7% in its share count.Shares of Scholastic rose 2.3% in the session.Price: $40.69, Change: $+0.93, Percent Change: +2.34%

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Sector Update: Financial

Financial stocks were declining in Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index decreasing 0.7% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) off 0.6%.The Philadelphia Housing Index was adding 0.6%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) fell 1.8%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was decreasing 0.9% to $75,117, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 5 basis points to 4.30%.In corporate news, Coinbase (COIN) and Gemini Titan have been sued by New York Attorney General Letitia James for allegedly violating the state laws against against illegal gambling with their prediction markets, Reuters reported, citing complaints filed in a state court in Manhattan. Coinbase shares fell nearly 7%.

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