Futures linked to major US equity indices pared earlier losses as investors weighed energy price movements and their implications for Federal Reserve policy. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq 100 all traded slightly higher, with the S&P 500 again approaching record territory.
On the geopolitical front, officials in Pakistan and Qatar expressed cautious optimism about a potential US–Iran agreement that could restore oil flows through the Persian Gulf. This helped moderate the earlier rebound in wholesale fuel prices, which had been driven by President Trump’s sharper rhetoric toward Tehran.
In fixed income, Treasury yields eased back from their recent spike, providing some relief to financial stocks and lifting major US banks in premarket trading.
In corporate news, Nvidia gained about 1.5% after privately arranging $500 billion in financing with a group of banks to expand its AI infrastructure buildout, increasing leverage across the sector. By contrast, Intel extended yesterday’s 4% decline with a further 1.5% drop after raising the size of its planned equity offering by $5 billion to $20 billion.
Looking ahead, markets are focused on tomorrow’s release of the US Consumer Price Index, following recent comments from several FOMC officials indicating that another rate hike next month remains on the table.
