United States stock futures were little changed on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEST), with the S&P 500 hovering within 1% of its all-time high, as investors weighed geopolitical developments and upcoming corporate earnings.
As of 9:45 am AEST (11:45 pm GMT), futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 were each trading within a narrow range of ±0.1%.
During Tuesday’s regular trading, Wall Street posted solid advances. The Dow Jones rose 0.7%, the S&P 500 gained 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2%, extending a recent rally driven by improving risk sentiment.
The S&P 500 is now approaching its record high of 7,002.28, reached on January 28. Tuesday marked the benchmark’s ninth positive session in ten, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq recorded its tenth consecutive day of gains. Notably, the S&P 500 has now fully recovered losses incurred since the escalation of the Iran conflict in late February.
Investor optimism has been underpinned by hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough between Washington and Tehran. U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this week, “We’ve been called by the other side,” adding, “They’d like to make a deal very badly.”
Reports on Tuesday suggested that a second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran is under discussion, although no formal timetable has been confirmed.
Market sentiment was also supported by easing inflation pressures and declining oil prices. Brent crude has retreated toward US$95 per barrel, extending recent losses as concerns over supply disruptions eased.
Westpac economist Ryan Wells said: "Risk sentiment continued to improve on hopes for diplomacy between the U.S. and Iran, although besides some continued hints at a possible second round of talks over the coming days, there is no real confirmation as of yet.
"Share markets lifted globally while the USD traded lower. This optimism set the scene for crude oil prices to continue sliding toward last week’s lows, with Brent now trading back around US$95/bbl.
"Alongside a downside surprise on U.S. producer price inflation, centred on non-energy items, which tempered fears around inflation. Bond yields continued to slide against this backdrop.
"The IMF meanwhile released its April 2026 World Economic Outlook, and in its ‘adverse’ and ‘severe’ scenarios characterised by higher oil prices and longer disruptions to supply chains, it warned against a much bleaker picture of weaker growth and higher inflation for 2026 and 2027."
Investors are now turning their attention to the next wave of corporate earnings, with Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, PNC Financial Services and ASML set to report before Wednesday’s opening bell.
On the economic front, traders will also monitor the release of U.S. import and export price indices for March, which may provide further insight into inflation trends and the outlook for monetary policy.
