Stocks Mostly Down Pre-Bell as US-Iran Talks Loom; Consumer Inflation Report on Deck
The main US stock measures were mostly tracking in the red before the open Friday as traders await talks between US and Iranian officials and a key report on consumer inflation.The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.1% each in premarket activity, while the Nasdaq was up less than 0.1%. The indexes finished the previous trading session higher, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq recording their seventh straight day of gains.Officials from the US and Iran are expected to meet on Saturday in Pakistan, which helped broker the truce between the two countries earlier in the week.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would negotiate with Lebanon on disarming Hezbollah, CNN reported Thursday. Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, previously called Israel's continued attacks on Lebanon a violation of the ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran.In a social media post on Thursday, President Donald Trump said Iran was "doing a very poor job" of allowing oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz. "That is not the agreement we have," Trump said.Iranian state media reported that transit through the strait was halted following Israeli strikes on Lebanon.West Texas Intermediate crude oil nudged 0.2% higher to $98.02 a barrel before the opening bell, while Brent ticked up 0.1% to $95.97. "With a full reopening of the strait unlikely in the near term, oil prices are expected to remain supported, as disruptions linked to reduced output and refinery shutdowns will take time to unwind," ING Bank said in a note on Thursday.The consumer price index report for March is scheduled for an 8:30 am ET release. Official data are expected to show that consumer inflation accelerated 0.9% and 3.4% on sequential and annual bases last month, according to a Bloomberg-compiled consensus.Treasury yields were down in premarket action, with the two-year rate retreating 0.2 basis points to 3.78% and the 10-year rate off 0.4 basis points to 4.29%.Government data on Thursday showed that inflation accelerated sequentially in February as real consumer spending edged higher, with analysts expecting price pressures to intensify due to the spillover effects of the Middle East conflict.The US economy expanded at a slower rate in the fourth quarter than previously projected, as consumer spending growth decelerated, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis' third estimate.Minutes from the Federal Reserve's March meeting showed earlier in the week that participants emphasized the need for the central bank to be "nimble" in adjusting monetary policy amid heightened macro risks.Friday's economic calendar also has the preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment report for April at 10 am, while the weekly Baker Hughes oil-and-gas rig count is out at 1 pm.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's (TSM) US-listed shares gained 2% pre-bell after the chipmaker disclosed a year-over-year increase in its first-quarter revenue. Snowflake (SNOW) rebounded 0.2% following a 12% drop at the close of the previous trading session.Gold declined 0.8% to $4,779 per troy ounce, while bitcoin slipped 0.2% to $71,920.