International Markets
Fed Watch
Options
Volatility

Stocks Higher: Iran Progress Offsets Fed on Rates, Inflation

PUBLISHED  | 2 min read
Thomas White

Thomas White

Co-Host

U.S. stock futures are higher in premarket trading in a rebound from yesterday afternoon’s sell-off.

The prospect of rate hikes this year caused Wall Street to reverse course Wednesday with a decline after Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s first meeting and press conference.

But Thursday’s bullish sentiment comes after President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian late Wednesday digitally signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at developing a permanent peace deal to end the war between their two nations. The MOU, which includes 14 separate points, includes an agreement for the U.S. and Iran to resolve the question of how to dispose of the Islamic Republic’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Oil prices are down nearly 2% near $74.50 a barrel on the positive developments. Investor focus will be on the potential end to the U.S. – Iran conflict along with fallout from the Fed meeting. Markets are closed tomorrow for holiday.

Snapshot (as of 8:15 AM ET)

  • Oil (/CL) – U.S. oil futures are down 2% to $74.45 per barrel
  • Gold (/GC) – Gold futures are down 2.26% to 4,282
  • Bitcoin (/BTC) – The cryptocurrency futures are down 0.24% to 64,115
  • VIX – The CBOE Volatility Index slumped nearly 7% to 17.19
  • U.S. Dollar ($DXY) – The dollar is up 0.54% to 100.629

Biggest Premarket Movers (as of 8:15 AM ET)

Advancers:

  • Intel Corp (INTC) 9.34%
  • Western Digital Corp (WDC) 5.74%
  • Lam Research Corp (LRCX) 5.19%
  • On Semiconductor Corp (ON) 5.03%
  • Teradyne Inc (TER) 4.94%

Decliners:

  • Accenture Plc (ACN) -14.20%
  • Epam Sys Inc (EPAM) -4.50%
  • Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH) -4.24%
  • IBM Corp (IBM) -3.75%
  • Gartner Inc (IT) -2.70%

Economic Data (ET)

  • Thursday: Triple Witching
  • 08:30 AM Jobless Claims
  • 08:30 AM Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
  • 10:00 AM Leading Economic Indicators
  • 10:30 AM Natural Gas Inventories
  • 1:00 PM Baker Hughes Rig Count
  • 4:00 PM Treasury International Capital
  • 4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet

Notable Earnings

  • Premarket Thursday: ACN, KR
  • PostMarket: None


Upgrades/Downgrades

  • Keefe Bruyette upgrades CME Group (CME) to Outperform from Market Perform
  • Barclays upgrades Enphase Energy (ENPH) to Equal Weight from Underweight
  • Citi upgrades Albemarle (ALB) to Buy from Neutral
  • Stifel downgrades Intuit (INTU) to Hold from Buy
  • Rothschild & Co Redburn downgrades FactSet (FDS) to Sell from Neutral
  • Scotiabank downgrades Prologis (PLD) to Sector Perform from Outperform
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.
Schwab Network is brought to you by Charles Schwab Media Productions Company (“CSMPC”). CSMPC is a subsidiary of The Charles Schwab Corporation and is not a financial advisor, registered investment advisor, broker-dealer, or futures commission merchant.
Charles Schwab Media Productions Company and all third parties mentioned are separate and unaffiliated, and are not responsible for one another's policies, services or opinions.
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.