U.S. stock futures steady, market focuses on Trump's speech and Iran ceasefire progress

Investing.com- Late Wednesday, U.S. stock index futures were steady, with the market focused on remarks President Trump is expected to make regarding the possible de-escalation of the military conflict in Iran.

After a strong start in April on Wall Street, futures remained steady. Driven by optimism that Iran could agree to a ceasefire and bargain-hunting in technology stocks, U.S. equities logged two straight days of gains.

As of 19:28 U.S. Eastern Time (23:28 Beijing time), S&P 500 index futures were steady at 6,617.0. Nasdaq 100 index futures were flat at 24,193.75, and Dow Jones futures hovered near 46,826.0.

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Iran denies ceasefire reports; attention on Trump’s prime-time address

Iran’s foreign ministry denied earlier claims by Trump that Tehran had requested a ceasefire, according to reports in official media on Wednesday. A report from Al Jazeera Television, citing a senior Iranian official, also indicated that Tehran largely denied the claim it had requested a ceasefire.

Not long before that, the U.S. president said in a social media post that Iran’s “new regime president” has requested a ceasefire. He said that once the Strait of Hormuz is opened, his administration will consider this so-called request, and in the meantime it will continue to launch attacks on Iran.

Trump is scheduled to address the nation at 21:00 U.S. Eastern Time (01:00 Greenwich Mean Time). The public widely expects the president will provide the latest updates on the war, which crossed the one-month mark earlier this week.

Earlier this week, Trump hinted that the Iran conflict could be ending, saying the U.S. military may stop hostilities against the Islamic Republic within the next two to three weeks.

He claimed the U.S. would achieve its goal of weakening Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and said Washington has helped bring about regime change in Tehran.

After Trump issued the statement, oil prices fell sharply, helping to ease some of the market’s concerns about the inflationary effects of the Iran war. However, due to severe disruption to global supply from the conflict in the Middle East, oil prices recorded a record monthly gain in March.

Wall Street rises on ceasefire hopes for Iran and bargain buying

Wall Street stock index futures rose for a second straight day on hopes the Iran war could end, and bargain buying following a tough March also helped lift the advance.

The S&P 500 jumped 0.7% on Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively. All three major indexes surged 2% to 4% on Tuesday.

Technology stocks were the main target of bargain hunters. Earlier, they had lagged their peers throughout March due to concerns about artificial intelligence disruption and weak chip demand.

In major after-hours trading, satellite communications company Globalstar Inc (NASDAQ:GSAT) surged 16% to a near 18-year high. Earlier, the Financial Times reported that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is in talks to acquire the company.

Penguin Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:PENG) jumped 10%. Earlier, the AI infrastructure company reported that its second-quarter earnings beat expectations and raised its profit outlook.

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