Futures Suggest Wall Street To Open Positive

(RTTNews) - Initial cues from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open positive on Tuesday.

Though Tehran has not revealed its willingness to participate in the second round of talks, the U.S. Vice President JD Vance and US Special envoy Steve Witkoff are set to be in Pakistan for the talks. President Trump expects Iran to come to the table.

Gold fell below $4,800 an ounce on Tuesday as investors awaited clarity on U.S.-Iran peace talks. Spot gold dipped 0.8 percent to $4,783.87 an ounce while U.S. gold futures were down 0.6 percent at $4,802.41. Investors pinned hopes for a resolution to the U.S.-Iran war, even as tensions between...

As of 7.25 am ET, the Dow futures were gaining 313.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 30.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 126.25 points.

The U.S. major averages finished Monday in red. The Nasdaq fell 64.09 points or 0.3 percent to 24,404.39, the S&P 500 dipped 16.92 points or 0.2 percent to 7,109.14 and the Dow edged down 4.87 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 49,442.56.

The Business Inventories for February will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.2 percent, while it was down 0.1 percent in the prior month.

The Retail Sales for March is scheduled at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 1.4 percent, while it was up 0.6 percent in the prior month.

The Pending Home Sales Index for March will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.9 percent, while in the February the Index was up 1.8 percent.

Four-month Treasury bill auction will be held at 11.00 am ET.

The Senate Banking Committee Nomination hearing of Kevin Warsh will be held at 10.00 am ET.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller will speak on "Modernizing Reserve Bank Operations" before the Brookings Institution at 2.30 pm ET.

Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Tuesday, even as tensions between Washington and Tehran continued to simmer ahead of a potential ceasefire deadline.

The dollar index was range-bound, and U.S. Treasury yields were little changed ahead of the release of U.S. retail sales data and a confirmation hearing for Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh later in the day.

Gold fell below $4,800 an ounce and Brent crude futures Slipped below $94 a barrel as investors awaited clarity on U.S.-Iran peace talks.

U.S. President Trump has indicated that he is unlikely to extend the truce with Iran if no agreement is reached before its expiry Wednesday evening, Washington time.

China's Shanghai Composite index finished marginally higher at 4,085.08 after a choppy session. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged up by 0.48 percent to 26,487.48.

Japanese markets advanced as tech stocks surged on optimism over AI investments and technology advancements. The Nikkei average climbed 0.89 percent to 59,349.17 while the broader Topix index settled 0.18 percent lower at 3,770.38.

Tokyo Electron rallied 3.5 percent, SoftBank Group shares soared 8.5 percent and Kioxia Holdings jumped 7.3 percent. Nojima Corp soared 14.2 percent following reports that the electronics maker is planning to acquire a majority stake in Hitachi's consumer appliances unit.

Financials lagged, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial falling 1.4 percent and Mizuho losing 1.9 percent.

Seoul stocks posted strong gains to close at a new record high on hopes of U.S.-Iran peace talks and the return of the AI trade.

The Kospi average surged 2.72 percent to 6,388.47, with Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and SK Hynix rallying 2-5 percent.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution soared 11.4 percent and Samsung SDI jumped nearly 20 percent after the companies said they have won major deals to supply batteries to German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz.

Australian markets ended on a flat note after yet another tepid trading session as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that "continued violations of the ceasefire" by the U.S. are a major obstacle to continuing the diplomatic process.

Rio Tinto rose 0.8 percent after the mining giant reported higher copper, iron ore and alumina output in the first quarter.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index ended up 0.13 percent at 12,932.33, paring earlier gains.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended modestly lower as oil prices jumped sharply following escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.

After the U.S. attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, Iran reversed its decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and refused new face-to-face talks with the U.S.

Refusing to lift the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports, President Trump threatened to destroy Iran's power plants and bridges if the ceasefire lapses.

Trump also asserted that any new deal with Tehron would be "far better" than the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.3 percent to snap a 13-day winning streak, while the S&P 500 eased 0.2 percent and the Dow finished marginally lower.

Asian shares finished mostly up, while European shares are trading broadly higher.

European shares are trading mostly higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is adding 14.95 points or 0.18 percent. The German DAX is progressing 136.37 points or 0.56 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is up 0.58 points or 0.01 percent. The Swiss Market Index is sliding 37.13 points or 0.28 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 19.93 points or 0.33 percent.