S&P 500 futures were relatively unchanged on Monday as stalled Iran peace talks and a fresh escalation in the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices higher, keeping geopolitical tensions front and center heading into a pivotal week.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials reversed 45 points, or 0.1%, to 49,476.
Futures for the much broader market inched up 2.5 points to 7,197.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ jumped 61.25 points, or 0.2%, to 27,496.25.
President Donald Trump on Saturday scrapped plans to send U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for ceasefire talks related to Iran, noting the negotiations could happen by phone.
“Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work!” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards; they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said no meeting between Tehran and Washington is currently planned.
Tensions escalated near the Strait of Hormuz after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boarded two container ships near the vital shipping lane, a key artery for global crude flows.
West Texas Intermediate futures rose about 2% to above $96 a barrel, while international benchmark Brent oil futures also gained 2% to top $107 per barrel.
However, an Axios report that said Iran has offered a new proposal to the U.S. for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war while suggesting that nuclear talks be deferred.
On the corporate front, five of the “Magnificent Seven” companies are set to report results in the final week of April, raising the stakes for a market already priced for strong growth.
Attention will also turn to the Federal Reserve’s policy decision on Wednesday, which could mark Jerome Powell’s final meeting as chair before Kevin Warsh is expected to take over in May.
The Department of Justice decided to drop its criminal probe into Powell on Friday, causing Sen. Thom Tillis to end his block of Warsh’s confirmation.
Qualcomm surged more than 12% after TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a post on X that OpenAI is working with Qualcomm to develop smartphone processors.
Domino’s Pizza fell 4% after its U.S. sales outlook came short of expectations. Domino’s said it expects U.S. same-store sales to expand by 0.9%. Analysts on average had penciled in growth of 2.3%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 acquired 1.4% Monday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng slid 0.2%
Oil prices let go of 29 cents to $94.69 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices settled $20.50 to $4,720.40 U.S an ounce.
