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Stocks Rise Pre-Bell as President Trump Signals Optimism on Iran Deal Prospects

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The benchmark US stock measures were pointing higher before the open Friday after President Donald Trump reportedly expressed optimism over prospects for a peace deal with Iran.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose 0.2% each in premarket activity, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%. The indexes finished Thursday in the green, with the Nasdaq extending its winning streak to a 12th consecutive session.

"It's looking very good that we're going to make a deal with Iran, and it's going to be a good deal," Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday, according to Bloomberg News. Talks between the US and Iran could resume on the weekend, Trump said.

Treasury yields were down before the opening bell, with the two-year rate retreating 1.3 basis points to 3.77% and the 10-year rate off 1.4 basis points to 4.3%.

On Thursday, Trump announced on social media that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to formally begin a 10-day ceasefire. The ceasefire seeks to pause hostilities between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, a key sticking point in peace negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 4.1% to $90.82 a barrel in premarket action, while Brent fell 4% to $87.54.

Shares of Netflix (NFLX) slumped 9.8% pre-bell after the streaming giant's second-quarter outlook fell short of Wall Street's estimates. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) edged down 0.4% after closing the previous trading session up 7.8%, while GE Aerospace (GE) rebounded 0.4% following a nearly 5% drop on Thursday.

Truist Financial (TFC), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), State Street (STT), Regions Financial (RF), Ally Financial (ALLY) and Autoliv (ALV) report their latest financial results before the bell.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly is scheduled to speak at 11:30 am ET, while Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin speaks at 12:15 pm. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller is slated to speak at 2 pm.

Friday's thin economic calendar has the weekly Baker Hughes oil-and-gas rig count at 1 pm.

Gold nudged 0.1% higher to $4,814 per troy ounce, while bitcoin slipped 0.1% to $75,132.

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Nasdaq, S&P 500 Score Back-to-Back Record Highs

The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 reached new peaks Thursday amid growing hopes for a resolution to the Middle East conflict.The Nasdaq rose 0.4% to 24,102.7, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.3% to 7,041.3, both notching record closing highs for a second consecutive day. The Nasdaq extended its winning streak to 12 days in a row.The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to 48,578.7.Most sectors ended in the green, led by energy, while health care saw the biggest drop.US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Lebanon and Israel agreed to a 10-day ceasefire.Trump said in a social media post that he will invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House for "meaningful talks.""Both sides want to see peace, and I believe that will happen, quickly," he wrote.The ceasefire seeks to pause hostilities between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, a key sticking point in peace negotiations between the US and Tehran.West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 2.4% at $93.50 a barrel in Thursday late-afternoon trade, while Brent advanced 3.4% to $98.19."Oil is up over doubts that the Strait of Hormuz disruption will ease soon," D.A. Davidson said in a report.US Treasury yields were higher, with the 10-year rate up 2.6 basis points at 4.31% and the two-year rate rising 1.6 basis points to 3.79%.In company news, IBM (IBM) shares rose 2.5%, the third-top gainer on the Dow. The tech giant will likely exceed Wall Street's estimates for the first quarter and raise its revenue guide amid momentum in the software segment and an earlier completion of the Confluent acquisition, Oppenheimer said in a note. IBM is scheduled to announce its quarterly results next week.Charles Schwab (SCHW) shares dropped 7.6%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500. The financial services provider's first-quarter results rose year over year amid a surge in client assets, though revenue fell short of the Street's estimates.Abbott Laboratories (ABT) followed Charles Schwab on the S&P 500, down 6%. The healthcare company lowered its full-year earnings outlook to reflect the acquisition of cancer diagnostics firm Exact Sciences.PepsiCo (PEP) reported higher-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results amid affordability initiatives, while the beverage and snacks company reiterated its full-year outlook. Its shares rose 2.3%.In economic news, US industrial production unexpectedly decreased in March, Federal Reserve data showed.It's too soon to blame the Middle East conflict for the drop, which was driven by "sharply falling" output in the mining and utilities sectors, Oxford Economics said in a note.Gold was last down 0.2% at $4,813.70 per troy ounce, while silver fell 1.2% to $78.68 per ounce.

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US Markets

Netflix First-Quarter Results Rise, Second-Quarter Outlook Misses Views

Netflix's (NFLX) first-quarter results rose year-on-year, though the streaming giant's second-quarter outlook fell short of Wall Street's estimates.Per-share earnings climbed to $1.23 from $0.66 a year earlier. Revenue increased 16% to $12.25 billion, above the consensus on FactSet of $12.18 billion.Stronger-than-projected membership growth, higher pricing and increased ad revenue helped boost the top-line, Netflix said in a letter to shareholders.Wedbush Securities expected the streamer to post a revenue beat, saying the latest round of price increases could buoy Netflix's profitability this year.Last month, the company raised prices on all its plans in the US, including bumping its ad-supported standard tier to $8.99 per month.Netflix projects second-quarter revenue rising 13.5% year-over-year to $12.57 billion, lower than analysts' $12.64 billion estimate. EPS is pegged at $0.78, versus the consensus view of $0.84.Netflix sees operating margin falling to 32.6% in the ongoing three-month period from 34.1% in the year ago quarter.Shares were down 8% in after-hours trading."As we noted in last quarter's letter, growth in content amortization will be first-half weighted due to the timing of title launches," the company said. "We expect (second-quarter) to have the highest year-over-year content amortization growth rate in 2026, before decelerating to mid- to high-single-digit growth in the second half of the year."For 2026, Netflix continues to expect revenue of $50.7 billion to $51.7 billion, reflecting 12% to 14% of annual growth. The consensus estimate is for $51.37 billion.Last week, Wedbush raised its price target on Netflix to $118 from $115, citing expected revenue growth in 2026 amid a significant boost from advertising."Netflix should continue to gain incrementally from its ad business by expanding partnerships, improving targeting, leveraging (artificial intelligence), and adding more live content," Wedbush analyst Alicia Reese wrote in the note on Friday.Netflix said its co-founder and chairman, Reed Hastings, will not stand for re-election to the board when his current term expires in June.

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US Markets

Big Banks Delivered Strong Capital Markets Performance in First Quarter, RBC Says

Major US banks delivered stronger-than-expected capital markets revenue in the first quarter amid solid gains in advisory and equities trading, RBC Capital Markets said in a note sent to clients Thursday.The combined capital markets revenue of JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Morgan Stanley (MS) climbed nearly 20% year over year, according to the brokerage.Their aggregate advisory revenue soared 68%, led by Goldman, RBC said. Total investment baking fees increased 31% from the year-ago quarter, including a boost from equity capital markets."We saw increased advisory revenues due the large deals announced in 2025 that closed in (the first quarter of 2026) and ECM revenues benefited from increased follow-on and convertible offerings," Gerard Cassidy, co-head of global financials research at RBC, said in the note.Equities trading rallied about 26%, with Citigroup logging the strongest performance and JPMorgan showing the smallest gain among the five banks.The banks' combined fixed income, currencies, and commodities revenue grew 10%, Cassidy said. All five banks except for Goldman achieved year-over-year growth in FICC.The lenders were "cautiously optimistic" about investment banking activity in the near term, factoring in macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties, according to the brokerage.The deadline for the expiration of a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran is close. The White House is optimistic about reaching a deal with Tehran, noting that a potential second round of talks would likely be held in Pakistan. Prior peace negotiations in Islamabad ended without a deal last weekend."Many of the investment banks pointed to solid backlogs in (the first quarter) which we believe could be monetized in less volatile market conditions," Cassidy said. "The longer economic uncertainty and heightened market volatility exist, however, the more difficult it will be for the companies to grow their investment banking revenues."Price: $309.39, Change: $+3.46, Percent Change: +1.13%

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