Stocks waver amid US-Iran uncertainty as strong season season wraps

US stock futures wavered early Friday as the world awaited an update on US-Iran peace talks.

Stocks rebounded on Thursday after Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Iranian media signaled progress on negotiations between the US and Iran for a peace deal.

However, clear sticking points remain.

Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F), the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F), and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) rose around 0.3%. The S&P 500 is vying for the index’s longest streak of weekly wins since 2023.

Markets started the week on a down note, with concerns of persistent inflation stoking worries about Federal Reserve rate hikes. Since reports of movement on US-Iran talks picked up on Wednesday, however, investors have had reason to believe a primary source of rising prices could be resolved soon.

On Friday, the University of Michigan’s latest readings on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations will offer fresh insight into how much price pressures are rising as the war drags on.

Earnings season also continues to wrap up, with major government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) reporting its results before the bell.

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Oil pushes higher as Iran talks on uranium puts pressure on global stability

Bloomberg reports:

Oil rose after three days of declines, as statements by Iran on uranium and the Strait of Hormuz pared earlier optimism over progress in the negotiations with the US.

Brent (BZ=F) climbed toward $105 a barrel, but is still down more than 4% this week. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) was near $98. Iran said the latest proposal from the US partly bridged the gap between the warring sides, but comments from the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader about keeping Tehran’s uranium stockpile and a dispute over tolls in the Strait of Hormuz clouded the outlook for a breakthrough.

The conflicting statements on key issues left it unclear if the two sides were any closer to a deal after renewed threats of escalation in recent days, buffeting oil prices as traders try to gauge when energy flows through the strait will fully resume. The war and the curtailment in supplies has seen global stockpiles of crude oil and products being drawn down at a record pace, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

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