S&P 500 futures slipped on Tuesday after the major averages staged a comeback in the previous session amid renewed hopes that a resolution may be in sight for the U.S.-Iran conflict.
Futures tied to the broad market index were 0.5% lower, as were Nasdaq 100 futures. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 233 points, or 0.5%.
The major averages all rose more than 1% after President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that the U.S. and Iran have held “very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.” Iranian state media reported that there were no direct talks between the two countries, however.
Stocks surged, with the Dow up more than 1,100 points on the day at one point. Oil prices also cooled, lending the market rally further support.
In the leadup to Trump’s announcement, the U.S. did engage with Iran in a series of closed-door discussions through Middle Eastern intermediaries, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter. That said, the report stated that there was some doubt expressed privately by Arab mediators at the prospect of both sides quickly reaching an agreement, as they were still far apart.
Additionally, confusion has grown among investors over how effective the talks to end the war were, to be sure, as Israel and Iran have since continued to exchange strikes in the wake of the president’s Monday comments.
Oil prices resumed their rally Tuesday, with global benchmark Brent crude futures adding more than 1% to trade above $101 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped 3% to above $90 a barrel.
Despite Trump’s optimistic tone, Citi U.S. equity strategist Scott Chronert doesn’t believe that investors are out of the woods just yet.
“We still have a lot of wood to chop in terms of where oil prices end up shaking out; how those impact underlying economic conditions. So we think we’re okay for right now with this down 5% to 10% narrative, but we have to be on the lookout that the risks are still out there and are still pretty notable,” he said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Monday afternoon.
The developments came after Trump over the weekend had threatened an attack on Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz wasn’t reopened. Iran, in turn, said that it would target U.S. infrastructure as a retaliatory tactic.
In Tuesday’s premarket, shares of Apollo fell more than 3% on the heels of the firm revealing it will cap its private credit fund withdrawals.
Apollo shares fall again after the firm caps withdrawals
While peers like Blackstone have eased redemption limits to accommodate demand, Apollo is sticking to its 5% cap, describing the move as a way to preserve value.
Even as Apollo has sought to distinguish itself by focusing on loans to large, stable businesses, software remains its largest sector exposure, accounting for 12.3% of the portfolio.
— Yun Li
Stocks making the biggest moves premarket
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
- Netgear — The San Jose, Calif.-based maker of WiFi routers and network switches surged 11% after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned all imports of consumer routers made abroad, saying they pose national security risks.
- Jefferies Financial Group — Shares of the investment bank rallied nearly 7% after The Financial Times, citing people familiar, reported that Japan’s second-largest lender, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, is planning a possible takeover of Jefferies.
- Apollo Global Management — The asset management giant fell 2% after it was revealed the company will limit withdrawals from its flagship private credit fund to less than half of requests. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Apollo said it had redemption requests that totaled to 11.2% of shares outstanding in the first quarter, exceeding the 5% cap per quarter the fund allows.
Read the full list here.
— Sarah Min
Brent climbs back above $100
Oil prices were higher on Tuesday, paring losses after falling sharply in the previous session, as energy market participants assessed developments related to the Iran war.
International benchmark Brent crude futures with May delivery were traded up more than 1% at around $101 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for May traded more than 2% higher at roughly $90 per barrel.
The uptick follows a sharp sell-off on Monday, with Brent crude falling about 11% to around $99 per barrel after topping $112 on Friday. Read more.
— Lee Ying Shan, Sam Meredith
Gundlach: It’s a ‘going nowhere’ market
Markets are stuck in a holding pattern, with few assets producing meaningful returns, according to DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach.
“It’s kind of a going nowhere market right now, sort of trendless. Almost nothing is up. Nothing is really down dramatically. Nothing has really made much money over the past nine months,” Gundlach said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”
Read more here.
— Yun Li
Asia-Pacific markets pare gains as oil rebounds on Iran war-linked uncertainty
Asia-Pacific markets pared gains Tuesday as oil prices rebounded, underscoring lingering uncertainty over the Middle East conflict.
Brent crude futures for May rose almost 3% to $102.91 per barrel while the West Texas Intermediate futures jumped 3.7% to $91.4 per barrel. The uptick follows a sharp sell-off on Monday, when Brent crude fell nearly 11% to around $99 per barrel after topping $112 on Friday.
South Korea’s Kospi had surged over 3% before paring some gains to close 2.7% higher at 5,553.92 while the small-cap Kosdaq was last up 2.24%, ending the trading day at 1,121.44.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.43% to close at 52,252.28, while the Topix added 2.1% to 3,559.67 after Japan’s headline inflation rate eased for a fourth straight month in February as the economy cooled on stabilizing food prices and fuel subsidies.
— Lee Ying Shan
Gold trades flat after early losses deepened bullion bear market
Gold remained firmly in its bear market phase on Tuesday, as investors unwind positions, with a stronger U.S. dollar and elevated Treasury yields reducing the yellow metal’s allure.
Spot gold prices declined 2% before paring losses to trade flat nearly at $4,404.79 per ounce. Gold futures for April delivery were last around $4,358.80 per ounce.
The dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of currencies, was up 0.5% on Tuesday. A stronger dollar reduces greenback-priced bullion’s appeal by making it more expensive for holders of other currencies.
— Lee Ying Shan
European stocks mixed as Iran war uncertainty lingers
Shares listed in Europe struggled to find direction on Tuesday, as uncertainty around a resolution to the Iran war weighed on sentiment.
Shortly after the opening bell, the pan-European Stoxx 600 was flat, with sectors and major regional bourses showing mixed performance.
Read more here.
— Chloe Taylor
Asia-Pacific shares advance as cooling oil prices calm war jitters
Asia-Pacific markets jumped Tuesday as signs of de-escalation in the Middle East conflict moderated oil prices.
South Korea’s Kospi surged over 3% before paring gains to add 1.5%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was 1.7%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.1%, while the Topix added 1.87% after Japan’s headline inflation rate eased for a fourth straight month in February as the economy cooled on stabilizing food prices and fuel subsidies.
The consumer price index fell to 1.3% last month, according to data released by Japan’s Statistics Bureau Tuesday, marking the lowest since March 2022 and below the central bank’s 2% target, down from 1.5% in January.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose by 0.32%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index advanced 1.62%, while the CSI 300 rose 0.52%.
— Lee Ying Shan
Apollo gives investors just 45% of requested withdrawals from private credit fund
Asset manager Apollo told investors in its private credit fund that it will limit withdrawals this quarter to just 45%.
Apollo Debt Solutions BDC said that it received redemption requests equivalent to about 11% of shares outstanding in the first quarter, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This tops the 5% quarterly cap the fund permits.
Shares of Apollo were last down more than 2% in extended trading.
Read here for more from CNBC’s Hugh Son about this latest development around Apollo’s private credit fund.
— Darla Mercado
All 11 GICS sectors end Monday’s session higher
All 11 of the GICS sectors ended Monday’s trading session higher.
The consumer discretionary sector, up 2.46%, led the gains. Materials and information technology stocks followed suit, respectively ending 1.49% and 1.46% higher.
On the other hand, the health care sector was the laggard, eking out a gain of 0.03%.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Estée Lauder confirms talks with Puig on potential merger
Shares of Estée Lauder were last less than 1% higher in Monday’s extended trading hours after the beauty company confirmed that it was in discussions with Puig about a potential merger.
Estée Lauder’s confirmation of the talks comes followed a report by The Wall Street Journal earlier on Monday. Shares of Estée Lauder sank nearly 8% in Monday’s session.
Estée Lauder said in its press release that as of this time, no final decision has been made, and no agreement has been reached.
Puig, which is Barcelona-based and still family-controlled, operates brands such as Charlotte Tilbury and Carolina Herrera.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Stock futures are little changed
Stock futures traded near flat Monday night.
Dow futures slipped less than 0.1% shortly after 6 p.m. ET, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were both marginally below flat.
— Lisa Kailai Han
