Stock market today: Dow S&P 500, Nasdaq futures climb as de-escalation talk in Iran sparks rally to close out Q1

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LIVE Updated 15 mins ago

Rian Howlett · Front Page Editor

Updated 2 min read

US stock futures made gains on Wednesday following a powerful rally across Wall Street to wrap up Q1, while investors weighed remarks from Trump indicating he may be winding down hostilities against Iran.

Futures linked to the S&P 500 (ES=F) rose 0.6% as contracts on the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) climbed 0.9%. Dow futures (YM=F) rose 0.5%.

The market-shifting moves were fueled by reports suggesting a potential diplomatic off-ramp in the Iran conflict. According to comments made to state media, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is open to deescalation under certain conditions, stating Iran has “the necessary will to end this war.”

Comments from the White House also indicated a shift in US posture. Trump has discussed ending the war even if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, stating the war won’t last “much longer.”

The White House announced that Trump will deliver a speech on Wednesday to the nation at 9 p.m. ET to give an update about the war in Iran.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened attacks on a number of US tech companies with operations in the Middle East, including Nvidia, Apple (AAPL), and Microsoft (MSFT), on Tuesday and said attacks would take place on Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET.

Oil futures fell as stocks rose. Brent crude (BZ=F) fell by more than 1.8% to trade at $102 per barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude (CL=F) dropped to trade below $100 per barrel.

Looking ahead, investors are preparing for a fresh batch of economic data to start the new quarter. ADP data showed private employers added 62,000 jobs in March, exceeding expectations. Additional reports due Wednesday include retail sales figures and the latest reading on manufacturing activity from the Institute for Supply Management.

LIVE 8 updates

  • US retail sales rose 0.6% from the prior month in February, a jump after January showed a decline in sales and a rise that topped Wall Street forecasts.

    Wall Street economists expected retail sales rose 0.5% last month, according to Bloomberg data. In the year’s first month, sales fell 0.1%. Compared to a year ago, retail sales rose 3.7% in February.

    Excluding autos, retail sales grew by 0.5% on the month, coming in hotter than the previous month’s 0.0% reading and expectations of a 0.3% uptick. The same measure grew by 3.6% year-on-year.

    Notably, gasoline sales dropped 0.7% year-on-year in the final month before the effects of the war in Iran will likely begin to show up in the data. The war began with US and Israeli airstrikes against Iran on Feb. 28.

  • Private payrolls fell slightly month over month in March but strongly outperformed expectations, according to a release from data provider ADP.

    The private sector added 62,000 jobs in March, according to ADP, slightly below February’s 66,000. Economists had been looking for 40,000 jobs added, roughly a third lower.

    Goods-producing sectors added 30,000 jobs on the month, with strong gains in construction offsetting the 11,000-job loss in manufacturing.

    Service-providing sectors added 32,000 jobs. A monthly loss of 58,000 jobs in the “trade/transportation/utilities” sectors was counterbalanced by an equal number of jobs gained in education and healthcare, alongside smaller adds in other sectors.

    Year-on-year pay changes for people who stay at their jobs remained steady at a 4.5% increase for the third month in a row, while pay changes for job-changers rose to a 6.6% gain.

    “Overall hiring is steady, but job growth continues to favor certain industries, including health care,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said.

  • The bond market may be doing the Fed’s work for it, Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger writes.

    Read more here.

  • RH (RH) stock sank 19% before the bell on Wednesday after the luxury furniture retailer’s earnings fell short of analysts’ expectations.

    Investing.com reports:

    Read more here.

  • Nike stock fell 9% before the bell on Wednesday, despite beating analysts’ estimates, the sportswear company said recovery efforts in China dragged on the quarter.

    Yahoo Finance’s senior reports Brooke DiPalma reports:

    Read more here.

  • Bloomberg News reports:

    Read more here.

  • Yahoo Finance’s Ines Ferré reports:

    Read more here.

  • Yahoo Finance’s Daniel Howley reports:

    Read more here.

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