US Equity Futures Mixed Pre-Bell as US, Iran Continue Military Strikes in Middle East
US equity futures were mixed pre-bell Wednesday as the US and Iran exchanged military strikes in the Middle East and progress on peace talks remained uncertain.Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.4% lower, S&P 500 futures were down 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.1% higher.The US Central Command reported Tuesday the defeat of several Iranian ballistic missiles and drones launched at Kuwait and Bahrain. The military command said it also conducted "self-defense strikes" on Iranian forces on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed to not have nuclear weapons, according to a CNBC report citing the New York Post's "Pod Force One" podcast. "I mean, now they can change their mind, but that was one of the things they've had to agree, they've agreed to that. That was the big thing," he said.Traders digested the latest round of earnings, with Palo Alto Networks (PANW) posting higher fiscal Q3 adjusted earnings and revenue.Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 2.5% at $98.38 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 2.8% higher at $96.39 per barrel.ADP's national employment report showed that private sector employment increased by 122,000 in May, compared with expectations for a 120,000 gain in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.The S&P Global composite purchasing managers' index final report for May, due at 9:45 am ET, is seen to be unchanged at 51.7. April factory orders, due at 10 am ET, are expected to have gained 4.6%, compared with 1.5% previously.Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan are slated to speak on Wednesday.In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 2.5% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1.6% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.2% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.3%, and Germany's DAX index was 1% lower in Europe's early afternoon session.In equities, Palo Alto Networks stock was down 3.8% after reporting its fiscal Q3 financial results. Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares fell 1% after a UK parliamentary committee said that the company's expanding role across the UK public sector represents an "unacceptable point of weakness." Novartis (NVS) stock was down 1% after Celcuity (CELC) reported that detailed results from a phase 3 trial showed its investigational breast cancer treatment gedatolisib outperformed Novartis' alpelisib plus fulvestrant in patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, PIK3CA-mutated advanced breast cancer.On the winning side, Sherwin-Williams (SHW) shares were up 3.6% after the company and Nippon Paint Group said they had abandoned their joint attempt to buy AkzoNobel. BP (BP) stock was up 1.3% after the Financial Times reported that the company held advanced talks to sell its UK North Sea oil and gas assets to Ithaca Energy in a deal potentially worth close to 2 billion British pounds ($2.7 billion).
