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FINWIRES

Stocks Rise Pre-Bell as Trump Extends Iran Ceasefire; Tesla Earnings On Deck

-- The main US stock measures were trending higher in Wednesday's premarket activity after President Donald Trump extended the two-week US ceasefire with Iran, while traders await the latest round of corporate earnings, including results from Tesla (TSLA).

The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.5% and the Nasdaq added 0.7% before the opening bell. The indexes finished Tuesday trading lower for the second consecutive session.

In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump announced the extension of the two-week US ceasefire deal with Iran, citing a request by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir. The truce was announced on April 7. The naval blockade of Iranian ports will continue, according to Trump.

"We have been asked to hold our attack on the country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal," Trump said in the post. "I have therefore directed our military to continue the blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other."

Iranian state news outlet Tasnim reported that negotiators from Tehran won't participate in further peace talks with their US counterparts, according to CNBC. US Vice President JD Vance's expected trip to Islamabad for peace talks with Iran has been called off, CNN reported, citing a White House official.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil inclined 1.3% to $90.83 a barrel in premarket action, while Brent rose 1.1% to $99.56.

The Trump administration is evaluating a potential extension of a maritime shipping waiver to make it easier to move oil and gasoline between US ports, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Electric vehicle giant Tesla is scheduled to release its latest quarterly results after the markets close, along with International Business Machines (IBM) and Texas Instruments (TXN). GE Vernova (GEV), Philip Morris International (PM), AT&T (T), Boeing (BA), Boston Scientific (BSX) and Elevance Health (ELV) post earnings before the bell, among others.

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) shares advanced 2% pre-bell as the company lifted the full-year procedure growth outlook of its da Vinci robotic surgery system and reported better-than-expected first-quarter results. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) gained 2%.

Kevin Warsh said Tuesday that the Federal Reserve, under his leadership, would be independent from the White House, CNBC reported. Warsh, who is Trump's Fed chair nominee, made the remarks at his Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing.

Treasury yields were moving down before the open, with the two-year rate retreating 0.8 basis points to 3.77% and the 10-year rate off 1 basis point to 4.28%.

Official data on Tuesday showed that retail sales last month logged the largest rise since March 2025 amid a surge in spending at gasoline stations as the Middle East conflict boosted energy prices.

Wednesday's economic calendar has the weekly mortgage applications bulletin at 7 am ET, followed by the weekly EIA domestic petroleum inventories report at 10:30 am.

Gold rose 1.1% to $4,769 per troy ounce, while bitcoin climbed 3.9% to $78,172.

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