Futures Flat Near Record Highs as Iran Tensions Ease, Oil Slides and VIX Sinks

U.S. stock futures are relatively flat in premarket trading after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 rallied to fresh all-time highs on Wednesday. Stocks have risen in recent days on optimism of a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran. President Donald Trump said in a Fox Business interview that aired on Wednesday that the Iran war is “very close to over.”

Oil prices have fallen over 3% this week and 9% this month, which is also lending support to equities. As stocks have recovered from the U.S.-Iran conflict, volatility has collapsed with the CBOE volatility index (VIX) falling to 7 week lows near the 18 level.

Headline risks will be watched today out of the Middle East along with Jobless Claims data and this mornings earnings from Taiwan Semi (TSM), Pepsico (PEP) and Netflix (NFLX) after the closing bell.

Snapshot (as of 7 AM ET)

• Oil (/CL) – Oil prices are up nearly 1% near $92 a barrel, reversing earlier declines as the market questioned whether peace talks between the U.S. and Iran would achieve a deal to end the war that has caused unprecedented disruption of Middle Eastern energy supplies.
• Gold (/GC) – Gold prices are up 0.3% near $4830, supported by a weaker dollar, while investors weighed growing optimism over a potential U.S.-Iran deal to end the war that has pushed up energy prices and fueled fears of higher inflation.
• Bitcoin (/BTC) – The Crypto Future is down 0.9% near 74,500 in premarket trading.
• VIX –The CBOE Volatility Index was down 1% on Wednesday and settled at 18.17 as stocks were higher. It was the lowest closing price for the VIX since February 25th .
• U.S. Dollar (/DX) – The dollar is relatively flat in the session, trading at 98.16.

Biggest Premarket Movers (as of 7 AM ET)

1. DATADOG INC (DDOG): +2.64%
2. SERVICENOW INC (NOW): +2.51%
3. PPG INDS INC (PPG): +2.49%
4. ALBEMARLE CORP (ALB): +2.49%
5. APPLOVIN CORP (APP): +2.23%

1. CORNING INC (GLW): -2.89%
2. MICRON TECHNOLOGY (MU): -1.96%
3. NETAPP INC (NTAP): -1.51%
4. CRH PUBLIC LIMITED (CRH): -1.50%
5. TRAVELERS COS INC (TRV): -1.45%%

Economic Data

• 8:30 AM ET: Jobless Claims, Philly Fed Mfg. Index
• 8:35 AM ET: Fed’s Williams Speaks
• 9:15 AM ET: Industrial Production
• 10:30 AM ET: Natural Gas Inventories
• 10:35 AM ET: Fed’s Miran Speaks
• 4:00 PM ET: Treasury Intl. Capital

Notable Earnings

• Premarket: ABT, BK, SCHW, CFG, JKS, KEY, PEP, MAN, PLD, TSM, TRV, USB, WIT
• Postmarket: AA, NFLX
• Premarket Tomorrow: ALV, ALLY, BMI, ERIC, FITB, RF, STT, TFC
• Postmarket Tomorrow: N/A

Upgrades/Downgrades

• aymond James upgrades Okta (OKTA) to Outperform from Market Perform
• BTIG upgrades Flywire (FLYW) to Buy from Neutral
• Citi double downgrades Flutter Entertainment (FLUT) to Sell from Buy
• Mizuho downgrades PayPal (PYPL) to Neutral from Outperform
• UBS downgrades GitLab (GTLB) to Neutral from Buy

This material is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered a personalized recommendation or investment advice. Investors should review investment strategies for their own particular situations before making any decisions.

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Data contained herein is obtained from what are considered reliable sources. However, its accuracy, completeness, or reliability cannot be guaranteed. All events and times listed are subject to change without notice.