U.S. stock index futures fell slightly on Wednesday evening as markets waited to see whether a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war would hold amid some signs of strain in the tentative agreement.
Futures retreated after a stellar session on Wall Street, where the Dow clocked its best day in a year after Washington and Tehran signaled they had agreed to cease hostilities for two weeks.
But Lebanon’s inclusion in the ceasefire remained a point of contention, with Iran alleging ceasefire violations over Israel’s continued attacks on the country.
Adding to uncertainty over the ceasefire, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday evening that U.S. military forces will remain around Iran until a "real agreement" was reached, and repeated his calls for Iran to cease its nuclear activities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
S&P 500 Futures fell 0.2% to 6,808.50 points by 00:22 ET (04:22 GMT). Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.25% to 25,012.0 points, while Dow Jones Futures fell 0.2% to 48,060.0 points.
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Iran ceasefire in focus as Tehran alleges violations While the U.S. and Iran initially signaled openness to a two-week ceasefire, Tehran on Wednesday accused the U.S. and Israel of violating several clauses in its10-point peace proposal.
Key among the violations was Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon, which Iran said was included in the ceasefire deal. But the White House signaled that Lebanon was not part of the agreement, while Israel said it will continue attacking Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
Iranian officials said it would be “unreasonable” to proceed with U.S. peace talks without including Lebanon in the deal. Media reports also showed Iran had closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israel’s attacks, after earlier signaling that it would allow safe passage through the channel during the two-week ceasefire.
U.S. and Iranian officials are set to begin ceasefire talks in Pakistan later this week, although the main agenda remains unclear. Tehran has also largely denied Washington’s demands that it cease its nuclear enrichment activities and hand over all its uranium.
Oil prices, which had initially slumped on news of the ceasefire, recouped some losses on Wednesday evening.
Wall St rallies on ceasefire cheer Wall Street indexes clocked strong gains on Wednesday following news of the ceasefire, as markets sought an end to nearly six weeks of war in the Middle East.
The S&P 500 jumped 2.5% to 6,782.96 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 2.9% to 47,909.92 points in its best day in a year. The NASDAQ Composite surged 2.8% to 22,635.0 points, with technology stocks recouping more of March’s steep losses.
Chipmakers outperformed, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging over 6% on gains in majors such as Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC). Chipmakers were encouraged by memory chip giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) forecasting stellar earnings in the first quarter.
Beyond the Iran war, markets also parsed somewhat hawkish signals from the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March meeting, released on Wednesday. The minutes showed policymakers growing increasingly concerned over the spike in oil prices, which could factor into higher inflation and interest rates over the coming months.
