-- US equity futures nudged higher pre-bell Friday as Israel and Lebanon extended their ceasefire by three weeks in a meeting at the White House facilitated by President Donald Trump.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.1% lower, S&P 500 futures were up 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures were 1.3% lower.
Fighting between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon has been a key discussion point in negotiations to end the conflict in the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed to vessels, while the US maintains its blockade on Iranian ports.
Trump said he was not in a hurry to reach a peace agreement with Iran, saying he wanted to make it "everlasting." He had extended the US-Iran ceasefire, calling the Iranian government "fractured," but Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday denied Trump's claim of disunity in the country's leadership.
Traders tracked the latest round of earnings, with Procter & Gamble (PG) reporting higher fiscal Q3 financial results and HCA Healthcare (HCA) posting an increase in Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue.
Oil prices were mostly flat, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 0.3% at $105.39 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 0.1% lower at $95.73 per barrel.
The final University of Michigan consumer sentiment report for April, scheduled at 10 am ET, is expected to show consumer sentiment index coming in at 48.5, compared with the preliminary reading of 47.6, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 1% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.2% higher, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.3% lower. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.3%, and Germany's DAX index was 0.2% higher in Europe's early afternoon session.
In equities, Intel (INTC) shares rose 26% after the company reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue, as well as issued fiscal Q2 guidance, that surpassed analyst estimates. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) stock was 11% higher after DA Davidson upgraded the company's stock to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $375 from $220. Procter & Gamble shares were up 2.6% after the company's fiscal Q3 financial results beat analysts' consensus.
On the losing side, HCA Healthcare shares dropped 7.8% after the company reported its Q1 financial results. Comcast (CMCSA) stock was down 2.7% after the company posted lower Q1 adjusted earnings from a year ago. Infosys (INFY) shares fell 2.6% despite reporting higher fiscal Q4 earnings and revenue.