-- US equity futures were rising pre-bell Wednesday after President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran while maintaining the US blockade of Iranian ports.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.7% higher, S&P 500 futures were up 0.6%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.9% higher.
Trump said that Iran's government is "seriously fractured" and that he is extending the ceasefire "until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal," according to his post on Truth Social.
Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran's permanent representative to the UN, said that Iran is ready to restart peace talks once the US lifts its naval blockade, Iranian state news outlet Tasnim reported early Wednesday, citing media outlet Rudaw.
Traders digested the latest round of earnings, with Philip Morris International (PM) and Vertiv (VRT) reporting higher Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue. GE Vernova (GEV) posted higher Q1 earnings and revenue, while AT&T (T) reported lower Q1 earnings amid higher operating revenue. Tesla (TSLA) and IBM (IBM) are set to report their results after-market.
Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 1.5% at $99.93 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 1.5% higher at $91.01 per barrel.
The Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations survey for April is scheduled for release at 10 am ET.
In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.4% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1.2% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.5% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was up 0.1%, and Germany's DAX index was 0.1% lower in Europe's early afternoon session.
In equities, shares of Philip Morris and GE Vernova were up 3.3% and 7.%, respectively, after the companies posted their Q1 financial results. Adobe (ADBE) stock was 3% higher after the company said its board approved a new share buyback authorization, allowing the company to repurchase up to $25 billion in shares through April 30, 2030. The digital media software firm also expanded its partnership with Omnicom Group (OMC) to co-develop an enterprise-grade, industry-specialized AI agentic operating model solution, according to Omnicom.
On the losing side, Vertiv shares were down 1.1% despite its Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue surpassing analyst expectations. AT&T stock was down 2% after its Q1 earnings release.