U.S. stock index futures were largely unchanged on Tuesday evening as markets remained sensitive to developments in the Middle East after reports said Iran launched additional attacks on neighboring countries. At the same time, the broader market traded with caution after several major U.S. indexes notched record levels earlier in the week, a run driven in large part by optimism around artificial intelligence and strong performance in technology shares.
By 20:20 ET (00:20 GMT) S&P 500 Futures were flat at 7,622.50 points. Nasdaq 100 Futures slipped about 0.1% to 30,689.50 points, while Dow Jones Futures were steady at 51,388.0 points.
Geopolitical tensions and military exchanges
The United States and Iran exchanged additional airstrikes on Tuesday evening, marking the third such episode in the past week. Those strikes followed efforts to negotiate a peace deal that, according to the reporting in this account, produced limited results.
Earlier in the week Iranian state media reported Tehran had ceased communications with the U.S., despite U.S. statements indicating a deal was close. U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed the notion that Iran had withdrawn from talks and said he expected a deal within a week. Iranian media, however, reported on Tuesday that there were no message exchanges with the United States.
Market participants responded to the escalating friction by bidding oil prices higher; oil rebounded sharply this week on concerns that a prolonged U.S.-Iran conflict could threaten supplies and drive energy-fueled inflation.
Stocks reach new peaks amid chip-sector momentum
Despite the geopolitical uncertainty, Wall Street indexes advanced to fresh highs on Tuesday, supported chiefly by gains in technology and semiconductor stocks.
Marvell Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MRVL) was a notable outperformer, rallying nearly 30% after NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said he expects Marvell to eventually be valued at more than $1 trillion. The broader technology and chip segments received further support from a slate of product announcements from Nvidia this week.
In cash-market moves, the S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 7,609.94 points. The NASDAQ Composite was slightly higher at 27,093.90 points, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased nearly 0.5% to 51,308.46 points.
Investor takeaway
- Markets are balancing two forces: geopolitical risk tied to renewed U.S.-Iran strikes, and strong sector-level performance in technology and semiconductors that has pushed major indexes to record levels.
- Futures trading showed limited net movement by late evening, reflecting caution ahead of further developments in the Middle East and potential profit-taking after recent gains.
- Rising oil prices amid conflict concerns have introduced added inflation risk, which could weigh on broader economic and market sentiment if sustained.