Wall Street indexes are positioned for another record-breaking session on Friday, with S&P 500 futures up 0.13% and Nasdaq 100 futures gaining 0.17% as of 6:05 GMT. According to Reuters, the S&P 500 is on track for a ninth consecutive weekly gain, its longest winning streak since December 2023. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq are also set to end the week higher, with all three indices set for a second straight month of gains. As per Mint, investors' appetite has improved over recent trades on the back of strong AI-led earnings growth and hopes of a resolution to the nearly three-month-long Middle East war between the US and Iran. The positive momentum comes despite inflationary concerns around the US-Iran war, as investors focused on renewed optimism around AI and strong earnings growth.
The latest developments show significant progress in US-Iran negotiations, with Washington and Tehran having agreed to extend their ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters. However, President Donald Trump has yet to approve the agreement, though sources indicate the deal has moved closer to finalization. President Trump posted on social media he was ready to make a "final determination" on a preliminary agreement to extend the ceasefire, though he left a Situation Room meeting without making any decision, as reported by the New York Times. An administration official told the New York Post it was the "closest" the two sides have been to reaching an agreement. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the US could remove some sanctions on Iran depending on how matters proceed in the current standoff. The agreement still needs Trump's approval, as sources told Reuters, while Iran's Tasnim news agency noted that the text of a potential memorandum of understanding has not yet been finalized or confirmed.
Oil futures experienced significant declines amid ceasefire reports, with Brent crude futures for July down 1.77% to $92.05 per barrel and the more active August contract falling 1.76% to $91.07. WTI US oil futures declined 1.74% to $87.35. For the week, Brent benchmark has plunged by about 11% and WTI has dropped by nearly 10%. This represents a positive development after the US inflation print rose at its fastest pace in three years in April, while US GDP for the first quarter was revised lower to a 1.6% annual rise. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.1% to $87.88 a barrel on Friday. Money markets expect the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates steady for the rest of the year, with some expectations of a 25 basis points hike in December. The decline in oil prices has eased inflation concerns that had been weighing on markets, with investors now focusing on the potential for a broader resolution to the US-Iran conflict.
The S&P 500 healthcare index posted strong gains, with Eli Lilly advancing 4% after CVS Health said it would restore the drugmaker's weight-loss injection, Zepbound, to its coverage and add its newly approved obesity pill Foundayo. On the Nasdaq, 3,114 stocks rose and 1,728 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.8-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and 10 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 127 new highs and 65 new lows. Tech stocks lifted indexes, with Microsoft gaining 3.5% after news website the Information reported the company would release a new coding model next week. Marvell Technology rose 3.1% after its first-quarter results, while Snowflake shares soared 36% after the data analytics firm lifted its annual product revenue forecast and announced a five-year AI infrastructure deal worth $6 billion with Amazon Web Services. In the Magnificent Seven tech stocks, ServiceNow rose 6.5%, Palantir over 8%, and Oracle over 6%, while Salesforce slipped 0.8% after providing lower-than-anticipated current quarter revenue guidance. Among specific stocks, Dell surged 37.8% before the bell, after raising its full-year profit and revenue forecasts, with peers Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Super Micro Computer gaining 18% and 10.4% respectively.
The US-Iran deal developments continue to influence broader financial markets, with bond yields easing as energy prices pared their rebound. The 10-year US Treasury note fell to 4.43%, declining one basis point on Friday and extending the drop from the 16-month high of 4.7% touched on May 20th. The MSCI World Index rose 0.4% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% and Nasdaq 100 gained 0.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed while the euro rose 0.1% to $1.1664 and the British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3466. Spot gold rose 1.1% to $4,546.03 an ounce on Friday after recovering in the previous session. According to The Financial Express, the deal helped calm fears that the recent energy shock would significantly worsen the inflation outlook, with markets continuing to expect the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged well into next year, although policymakers continue to warn about persistent inflation risks. Antonio Di Giacomo, Senior Market Analyst at XS.com, noted that "although inflation figures remain elevated, markets reacted relatively positively because the data came in line with analysts' expectations. This eased fears of an even stronger inflation surprise and allowed investors to maintain their appetite for risk assets, particularly within the technology sector, which continues to lead the 2026 equity rally."
