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Stocks Rise Pre-Bell as Investors Monitor US-Iran Negotiations

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Stocks Rise Pre-Bell as Investors Monitor US-Iran Negotiations

The benchmark US stock measures were tracking in the green before the open Friday as investors continue to monitor negotiations between the US and Iran to end the Middle East conflict.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% and the Nasdaq was slightly up in premarket activity. The indexes finished the previous trading session higher, with the Dow reaching an all-time peak.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly said Thursday that there were "good signs" that a peace deal between the two countries is in sight, but warned that any agreement would be "unfeasible" if Iran insists on controlling shipping through the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Iran is discussing setting up a permanent toll system with Oman to formalize its control of the strait, Bloomberg News reported.

"No one in the world is in favor of a tolling system," Rubio told reporters, according to CNBC. "It can't happen [and] it would be unacceptable."

The semi-official Iranian Students' News Agency reportedly said that the latest US proposal to Iran has "narrowed the gaps to some extent" between the two sides, although "further reductions require an end to the temptation for war from Washington."

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.9% to $98.19 a barrel before the open, while Brent increased 2.5% to $105.18.

"The oil market remains overly sensitive to Iran-related headlines, with participants continuing to pin considerable hope on reports that talks between the US and Iran are progressing," ING Bank said in a report on Thursday.

Treasury yields were down in premarket action, with the two-year rate retreating 0.7 basis points to 4.08% and the 10-year rate off 2.4 basis points to 4.56%.

Shares of IBM (IBM), GlobalFoundries (GFS) and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) were up pre-bell after being selected for US government funding under the Trump administration's plan to strengthen the country's position in quantum computing.

Ross Stores (ROST) rose 5.3% after the discount retailer lifted its full-year outlook and reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results. Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) gained 5.8% as the video game publisher reported a smaller-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter loss and said it was on track to launch the highly anticipated "Grand Theft Auto VI" on Nov. 19.

BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ) and Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) report their latest financial results before the bell.

Friday's economic calendar has the final University of Michigan consumer sentiment report for May at 10 am ET, while the weekly Baker Hughes oil-and-gas rig count posts at 1 pm. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller is scheduled to speak at 10 am.

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said Thursday that lifting interest rates may not be an appropriate response to curb price pressures.

"Raising rates to weaken demand doesn't address the root cause behind supply shock-driven inflation. It doesn't free up trade routes, reopen factories or melt ice," he said in prepared remarks for an event in North Carolina. "That said, I've been asking myself whether we've entered an era where supply shocks will become more frequent."

Gold decreased 0.7% to $4,513 per troy ounce, while bitcoin slipped 0.4% to $77,221.

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