US Equity Futures Flat Pre-Bell as Traders Track Developments in Fragile US-Iran Ceasefire
US equity futures were flat pre-bell Friday as traders were wary of the fragile two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran.Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.1% higher, S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.3% higher.The Strait of Hormuz remains shut, while Israel continues to exchange fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, even with the US-Iran talks scheduled on Saturday morning in Islamabad. Israel has said it would start talks with the Lebanese government targeting to disarm Hezbollah and end attacks in the nation.Oil prices were lower, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude down 0.5% at $95.42 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 0.5% lower at $97.42 per barrel.The March consumer price index, released at 8:30 am ET, gained 0.9% as expected, compared with a 0.3% increase in the previous month, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for April is expected at 51.5%, down from 53.3% previously, and the February factory orders are expected to have declined 0.2% following an increase of 0.1% in January. The two reports are scheduled for 10 am ET.In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 1.8% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.6% higher, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.5% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was up 0.4%, and Germany's DAX index was up 0.8% in Europe's early afternoon session.In equities, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) shares were up 2.3% after the company reported higher Q1 net revenue. Marvell Technology (MRVL) shares were 3.5% higher after Barclays upgraded the company's stock to overweight from equalweight.On the losing side, ServiceNow (NOW) shares were down 1.6% after the company said it is shifting its entire product portfolio from artificial intelligence sidecars to full AI integration. UBS also downgraded the company's stock to neutral from buy.