Futures Pointing To Continued Strength On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Tuesday, with stocks likely to see further upside after ending the previous session sharply higher.

The upward momentum on Wall Street comes amid optimism about a second round of talks between the U.S. and Iran over ending the Middle East conflict.

President Donald Trump said on Monday the U.S. has been contacted by Iran about resuming peace talks and claimed, "They'd like to make a deal very badly."

The news about potential negotiations has contributed to a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures plunging by more than 3 percent.

"Previously, the narrative was straightforward: the longer the war dragged on, the worse the outlook for growth, inflation and risk assets," said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com. "Now, the dynamic appears to have flipped."

"With a ceasefire framework still loosely in place and the US attempting to control the Strait, the absence of escalation, rather than the presence of conflict, is being treated as a positive signal," she added. "In other words, each day without a major disruption to Gulf energy infrastructure is being read as incremental progress toward stabilization."

Adding to the positive sentiment on Wall Street, a report released by the Labor Department showed producer prices in the U.S. increased by much less than expected in the month of March.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand climbed by 0.5 percent in March, matching a downwardly revised increase in February.

Economists had expected producer prices to jump by 1.2 percent compared to the 0.7 percent advance originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of growth by producer prices accelerated to 4.0 percent in March from 3.4 percent in February. Economists had expected the pace of growth to surge to 4.6 percent.

Stocks moved to the downside early in the session on Monday but showed a significant turnaround over the course of the trading day. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day and firmly into positive territory.

The major average saw further upside late in the day, reaching new highs for the session. The Nasdaq surged 280.84 points or 1.2 percent to 23,183.74, the S&P 500 jumped 69.35 points or 1.0 percent to 6,886.24 and the Dow climbed 301.68 points or 0.7 percent to 48,218.25.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as traders kept an eye on developments in the Middle East after weekend talks between the U.S. and Iran failed to produce an agreement.

"They have chosen not to accept our terms," U.S. Vice President JD Vance said in a brief news conference but left open the possibility that terms could still be reached. Iran said that "unreasonable U.S. demands" prevented the progress of the negotiations.

Traders seemed to shrug off news that President Donald Trump has imposed a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.

U.S. Central Command said the blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

"Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Trump also said the U.S. military is "locked and loaded" and prepared to "finish up the little that is left of Iran" at an "appropriate moment."

While the news contributed to a significant increase by the price of crude oil, traders seem optimistic Trump will back down once again and avoid a return to war.

Traders were also looking ahead to the start of earnings season, with companies largely expected to report strong financial results despite the Middle East conflict.

Software stocks moved sharply higher following recent weakness, resulting in a 4.6 percent spike by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index.

Substantial strength also emerged among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 4.4 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

Brokerage stocks also showed a significant move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index up by 2.9 percent.

Transportation, semiconductor and networking stocks also saw considerable strength, while utilities and natural gas stocks moved to the downside.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are plunging $3.08 to $96 a barrel after surging $2.51 to $99.08 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after falling $20 to $4,767.40 ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $27.10 to $4,794.50 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 158.71 yen compared to the 159.44 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1800 compared to yesterday's $1.1757.

Asia

Asian stocks advanced on Tuesday on renewed hopes of U.S.-Iran talks, with reports suggesting that there could be a second round of talks to end the Middle East conflict.

Without further elaborating details, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. has been called by the other side and he is still willing to engage with Tehran.

Gold prices rose toward $4,800 an ounce in Asian trading as the U.S. dollar faltered on renewed optimism for a negotiated end to the U.S.-Iran war. Brent crude prices dropped nearly 1 percent toward $98 a barrel.

China's Shanghai Composite Index surged 1 percent to 4,026.63 after the release of trade data.

Chinese export growth slowed sharply to hit a five-month low of 2.5 percent in dollar terms in March, while imports surged 27.8 percent from a year ago, logging their strongest growth in more than four years, China customs data showed today.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.8 percent to close at 25,872.32 on hopes for a deal to end the Middle East war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

As global oil routes face disruption, Beijing cautioned Washington against interference and urged all sides to exercise restraint and avoid actions that could intensify the crisis.

Also, China has rejected U.S. intelligence claims that it is preparing to supply weapons to Iran, calling the allegations "baseless smears."

Japanese markets hit a six-week high, led by gains in artificial-intelligence related and semiconductor stocks. The Nikkei 225 Index rallied 2.4 percent to 57,877.39, while the broader Topix Index closed 0.9 percent higher at 3,755.27. Disco Corp., Advantest and SoftBank shares jumped 6-13 percent.

Seoul stocks soared as the United States Navy began enforcing a full maritime blockade of Iranian ports in a move aimed at putting pressure on Tehran.

The Kospi jumped 2.7 percent to 5,967.75, with tech and financial shares leading the surge on hopes for renewed negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

Australian stocks rose to a near six-week high, with miners leading the surge. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose half a percent to 8,970.80, while the broader All Ordinaries Index settled 0.6 percent higher at 9,165.10.

BHP shares rallied 3.2 percent after several Chinese steel mills reportedly relaxed an unofficial ban on some of the company's iron ore exports.

The Aussie dollar slipped after RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser said stagflation is a "central banker's nightmare" and the coming months will be challenging for the country.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index finished marginally lower at 13,017.26, giving up early gains and extending losses for a third day running.

Europe

European stocks traded higher on Tuesday, the dollar weakened to hit a six-week low and government bond yields dipped on renewed hopes for progress in Middle East peace talks

Oil prices pulled back below $100 a barrel as the U.S. blockade of Iran's ports officially came into force and reports suggested that the U.S. and Iran are arranging a second round of negotiations to end their conflict.

While the German DAX Index is up by 1.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent.

Shares of French fashion luxury house LVMH fell nearly 2 percent after its first quarter 2026 revenue declined 6 percent on a reported basis due to disruption linked to the Middle East conflict.

Eurofins Scientific jumped more than 5 percent. The testing and laboratory ?services provider has signed an agreement to sell its electrical and electronic testing unit to UL Solutions.

Payment services leader Worldline declined 1.2 percent after announcing it has entered into exclusive negotiations for the proposed divestment of its New Zealand payment activities to Cuscal Paris La Defense.

Shares of Publicis Groupe gained 1 percent. The advertising and public relations company has confirmed its full-year guidance after reporting ?first-quarter net revenue organic growth of 4.5 percent.

Swiss technology company Comet Holding soared 9 percent after posting strong order intake in its first-quarter results.

Imperial Brands slumped 7.4 percent. The British tobacco company has warned of increased losses from its NGPs due to increased investment in building both scale and market share.

BP Plc dropped half a percent. The oil & gas major said it expects first-quarter upstream production to be broadly flat sequentially.

U.S. Economic News

A report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday showed producer prices in the U.S. increased by much less than expected in the month of March.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand climbed by 0.5 percent in March, matching a downwardly revised increase in February.

Economists had expected producer prices to jump by 1.2 percent compared to the 0.7 percent advance originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of growth by producer prices accelerated to 4.0 percent in March from 3.4 percent in February. Economists had expected the pace of growth to surge to 4.6 percent.

At 12:15 pm ET, Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee is scheduled to participate in a panel before the Semafor World Economy 2026 conference

Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr is due to deliver opening remarks before the "Strengthening America's Economy Through Rural Investment: a Working Forum" at 12:45 pm ET.