Key facts
- U.S. stock index futures rose Tuesday amid hopes of a Middle East ceasefire and ahead of key corporate earnings.
- Renewed mediation efforts in the Middle East lifted market sentiment, causing Brent crude futures to pull back from a one-month high.
- Semiconductor stocks led premarket gains, helping to lift equities.
- Alphabet and Intel are scheduled to release earnings this week, which could impact the AI market.
- President Donald Trump announced 50% tariffs on a wide range of imports from Canada.
U.S. stock index futures rose on Tuesday as renewed mediation efforts in the Middle East lifted sentiment, while investors looked ahead to corporate earnings. Markets were weighing mixed signals from the U.S.-Iran conflict after a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran had received a proposal from mediators for a 10-day ceasefire.
Tensions in the nearly five-month-long war have widened in recent days, with Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis saying they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, raising risks to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf. However, Brent crude futures pulled back from a one-month high as investors latched on to hopes of a resolution.
The decline in oil prices helped lift equities, with recently battered semiconductor stocks leading premarket gains. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index remains up about 66% for the year, though it ended Friday more than 20% below its late-June record high. Dow E-minis were up 189 points, or 0.36%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 43 points, or 0.57%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 415.75 points, or 1.44%.
Investor focus this week will turn to results from Alphabet and Intel, which could help determine whether the AI trade has further room to run amid elevated profit expectations. Adding to the uncertainty, President Donald Trump on Monday unveiled 50% tariffs on a wide range of imports from Canada. Among individual stocks, Nebius rose 7.7% after Nvidia disclosed a 9.3% passive stake in the AI cloud firm.