S&P 500 Rebound, Optimism for US-Iran Deal Move US Equity Futures Higher Pre-Bell

-- US equity futures were edging higher pre-bell Tuesday following a rebound in the S&P 500 as traders were optimistic that a deal could still be reached between US and Iran despite a breakdown in negotiations over the weekend.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.1% higher, S&P 500 futures were up 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.6% higher.

The S&P 500 rose over 1% on Monday, erasing losses incurred since the beginning of the Middle East conflict.

President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran had reached out to the US and wanted to "make a deal very badly."

Oil prices were lower, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude down 1.5% at $97.88 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 3.2% lower at $95.96 per barrel.

The US Producer Price Index rose by 0.5% in March, the same as in February and below the 1.1% gain expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:45 am ET.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 2.4% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.8% higher, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 1% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was up 0.1%, and Germany's DAX index was up 1.1% in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, Oracle (ORCL) shares were up 4.9% after the company said it introduced new artificial intelligence-focused features for its utilities software suite. Novo Nordisk (NVO) stock was 3.3% higher after the company said it formed a strategic partnership with Microsoft (MSFT)-backed OpenAI to deploy advanced AI across its operations. In addition, Novo Nordisk received the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approval for a new single-dose 7.2 mg of Wegovy to treat adults with obesity, according to the UK regulator. Tesla (TSLA) shares were up 1.6% after UBS upgraded the company's stock to neutral from sell.

On the losing side, CarMax (KMX) shares were down 6.2% after the company reported lower fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings and net sales. Dow (DOW) stock was 1.1% lower after the company named Chief Operating Officer Karen Carter as its chief executive officer, effective July 1.