Stock futures rose on Tuesday morning as investors cheered U.S. President Donald Trump’s positive comments on ending the Iran war. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 Index (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were up 1.15%, 1.13%, and 1.15%, respectively, at 8:35 a.m. EDT on March 31.
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Forget margin or options. Here's how the pros trade QQQAccording to a Wall Street Journal report, Trump had told aides he was willing to end military hostilities in the Middle East, even if the Strait of Hormuz remained largely shut. Moreover, he posted on Truth Social that “great progress has been made” in the U.S. talks with a new, more reasonable Iranian regime to end military operations.
Investors also welcomed comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who said inflation appears under control for now, with no immediate need to raise interest rates. Nonetheless, global markets are poised to finish March on a negative note due to the prolonged U.S.-Iran war.
Meanwhile, oil prices moved higher following a Bloomberg report that Iran struck a Kuwaiti oil tanker in Dubai waters. At the time of writing, the international oil benchmark Brent (CM:BZ) was up 3.8% at $117.02 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CM:CL) rose 0.10% to trade at $102.98 per barrel.
During Monday’s regular trading, the three major indexes closed mixed. The S&P 500 dropped 0.39%, extending its losing streak to three days. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.73%, but the Dow eked out a gain of 0.11%.
Turning to trending stocks, shares of Marvell Technology (MRVL) jumped more than 9% on news of chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) taking a $2 billion stake. Also, Cantessa Pharmaceuticals (CNTA) stock jumped 45% in Tuesday’s pre-market trading on news of the drugmaker’s acquisition by Eli Lilly (LLY). Meanwhile, shares of spice maker McCormick (MKC) fell more than 2% following news of the company’s merger with Unilever’s (UL) food division.