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FINWIRES

S&P 500 Rebound, Optimism for US-Iran Deal Move US Equity Futures Higher Pre-Bell

-- US equity futures were edging higher pre-bell Tuesday following a rebound in the S&P 500 as traders were optimistic that a deal could still be reached between US and Iran despite a breakdown in negotiations over the weekend.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.1% higher, S&P 500 futures were up 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.6% higher.

The S&P 500 rose over 1% on Monday, erasing losses incurred since the beginning of the Middle East conflict.

President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran had reached out to the US and wanted to "make a deal very badly."

Oil prices were lower, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude down 1.5% at $97.88 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 3.2% lower at $95.96 per barrel.

The US Producer Price Index rose by 0.5% in March, the same as in February and below the 1.1% gain expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:45 am ET.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 2.4% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.8% higher, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 1% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was up 0.1%, and Germany's DAX index was up 1.1% in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, Oracle (ORCL) shares were up 4.9% after the company said it introduced new artificial intelligence-focused features for its utilities software suite. Novo Nordisk (NVO) stock was 3.3% higher after the company said it formed a strategic partnership with Microsoft (MSFT)-backed OpenAI to deploy advanced AI across its operations. In addition, Novo Nordisk received the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approval for a new single-dose 7.2 mg of Wegovy to treat adults with obesity, according to the UK regulator. Tesla (TSLA) shares were up 1.6% after UBS upgraded the company's stock to neutral from sell.

On the losing side, CarMax (KMX) shares were down 6.2% after the company reported lower fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings and net sales. Dow (DOW) stock was 1.1% lower after the company named Chief Operating Officer Karen Carter as its chief executive officer, effective July 1.

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Australia

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%

$INTC$NVDA
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%

$SCHL
Sectors

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%.

$COIN