US Markets
Stocks Rise Pre-Bell as Traders Weigh Uncertainty Over US-Iran Talks
US equity futures were pointing higher on Tuesday as traders monitor uncertainty over a potential fresh round of talks between the US and Iran and await the latest batch of corporate earnings.The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% each in premarket activity, while the Nasdaq added 0.3%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finished the previous trading session lower, with the latter snapping a 13-day winning streak, while the Dow was little changed.President Donald Trump said Vice President JD Vance is ready to leave for Pakistan for a second round of peace talks with Iran, according to a Bloomberg report. Iran, however, hasn't publicly confirmed if any representative from its side will participate in the latest proposed negotiations."We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield," Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a Monday post on X. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a social media post that the country still has "deep historical mistrust" towards the US government's conduct.Trump said Monday that the US is not likely to extend its current ceasefire with Iran if a deal isn't agreed, Bloomberg News reported. The ceasefire is set to expire "Wednesday evening Washington time," Trump reportedly said."I'm not going to be rushed into making a bad deal," Trump said in a phone interview, according to Bloomberg. "We've got all the time in the world."The US-Iran ceasefire may be extended by up to two weeks, though it will take much longer to hammer out a complete peace agreement, Macquarie Group said in a note on Monday.West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 1.2% to $88.55 a barrel before the opening bell, while Brent decreased 0.9% to $86.68."Oil prices are being whipsawed by developments in the Middle East once again, with what appears to be de-escalation quickly turning to re-escalation," ING Bank said in a Monday report.Treasury yields were moving upwards in premarket action, with the two-year rate gaining 2.1 basis points to 3.74% and the 10-year rate edging 0.6 basis points higher to 4.26%.GE Aerospace (GE), UnitedHealth (UNH), Danaher (DHR), Northrop Grumman (NOC), 3M (MMM), D.R. Horton (DHI), Tractor Supply (TSCO) and Genuine Parts (GPC) are scheduled to report their latest financial results before the bell, among others.Shares of Amazon.com (AMZN) inclined 2.7% pre-bell after the e-commerce giant said it will invest $5 billion in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic and up to another $20 billion in the future if certain commercial milestones are met.Apple (AAPL) nudged 0.3% lower after the iPhone maker announced that Tim Cook will step down as chief executive and become executive chairman, with hardware engineering veteran John Ternus set to succeed him as CEO. Alaska Air (ALK) fell 2.9% after reporting its latest quarterly results.Tuesday's economic calendar has the retail sales report for March at 8:30 am ET, followed by the pending home sales index for the same month at 10 am.Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Warsh's hearing before the Senate Banking committee is slated for 10 am. Fed Governor Christopher Waller is expected to speak at 2:30 pm.Gold slipped 0.6% to $4,801 per troy ounce, while bitcoin traded up 0.4% at $76,575.
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