S&P 500 futures were relatively unchanged on Wednesday as oil prices rose and traders awaited the latest monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve. Futures tied to the broad market index climbed 0.1%, while Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.6%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures traded down 24 points, or 0.1%. Energy prices had fallen earlier this week following an announcement from Trump that the U.S. and Iran had reached a potential deal to end the war. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that both sides have terminated their military operations, while an official signing ceremony will take place in Switzerland this Friday. SpaceX traded higher by more than 3% in the premarket. The stock has been on fire since the rocket company’s initial public offering last week, which was priced at $135. In that short time, shares are up around 50%, bolting the company’s valuation above that of Amazon’s. Shares of Intel rose 3% in early trading as part of a broader comeback among chip stocks. This comes on the heels of the company starting production of its most-advanced chip node known as 18A-P, a step that moves the company closer to securing a potential agreement to produce chips for Apple devices. Alongside Intel, ASML advanced 4%, while the Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF (SOXQ) was up by 2%. U.S. Treasury yields inched higher on Wednesday as investors await the outcome of Kevin Warsh’s first Fed policy meeting. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note — the key benchmark for U.S. government borrowing — rose more than 1 basis point to 4.441%. The 2-year Treasury note yield, which more closely tracks short-term Federal Reserve interest rate policy, was up more than 1 basis point at 4.062%. The longer-dated 30-year Treasury bond yield advanced less than 1 basis point to 4.937%. Asian markets closed mostly higher Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 scaling a new peak and rising 0.72%. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.58%. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index was down 0.7%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 gained nearly 1%. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 rose 0.3%. Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday as investors assessed the U.S.-Iran peace deal, though uncertainty over the full resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz limited further falls. Brent crude futures rose 20 cents, or 0.25%, to $79.16 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate climbed 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $76.25 a barrel. Both benchmarks fell about 5% for a second straight session on Tuesday to stand at three-month lows on hopes that a U.S.-Iran deal would allow oil flows through the Strait. “Markets are broadly stripping out the embedded geopolitical risk premium in oil prices,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova. Gold prices were little changed on Wednesday, with market participants focused on the Federal Reserve’s first policy decision under new chair Kevin Warsh and details of the U.S.-Iran peace agreement. Spot gold was little changed at $4,323.50 per ounce after gaining in the previous four sessions. U.S. gold futures were down 0.3% at $4,342.40. “The gold market will take cues from signals from the FOMC today. With Kevin Warsh taking his seat at the helm for the first time, investors will be watching closely how he interprets recent market developments,” Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said.
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