U.S. stock futures moved lower on Tuesday as investors adopted a cautious posture ahead of a deadline set by President Donald Trump for Iran to agree to terms aimed at halting hostilities. Oil prices remained elevated above $110 a barrel, reflecting ongoing disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, while market attention split between the geopolitical timetable and fresh corporate developments in the chip and media sectors.
At 03:15 ET (07:15 GMT), futures tied to the main U.S. indexes were down: the Dow futures contract had fallen 104 points, or 0.2%; S&P 500 futures were off 25 points, or 0.4%; and Nasdaq 100 futures had declined 118 points, or 0.5%. Those moves came after all three primary Wall Street averages closed higher in the previous session as traders continued to look for signs of progress in negotiations intended to end a conflict that has lasted more than a month.
Traders' hopes for a diplomatic resolution have been front and center, but the outlook for the broader U.S. economy also factored into market sentiment. Data covering March, which includes most of the period of fighting, showed the U.S. services sector expanded at a slower-than-expected pace. Within that report, employment in the services industry contracted and the prices paid component, a proxy for inflationary pressures, rose to its highest reading since October 2022.
Alongside macro data, concerns persisted about the health of the private credit market, which is estimated at $1.8 trillion. Blue Owl Capital emerged as a focal point of those concerns after the firm said it would restrict redemptions from two funds amid a rise in withdrawal requests. Shares of Blue Owl slumped to an all-time closing low following the announcement.
Energy and the Strait of Hormuz
Oil markets continued to price in the possibility of sustained supply disruption. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely constrained for weeks, with traffic described as only trickling through the vital waterway. That passage is critical to global energy flows, with roughly a fifth of the world’s oil traversing the strait.
Brent crude futures were last reported higher by 1.5% at $11.45 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 2.4% to $115.14 a barrel. The constrained maritime routes have amplified concerns about the flow of crude to energy-importing regions, with Asian countries particularly exposed because of their dependence on products that move through the strait, and European nations relying on natural gas sourced from the Persian Gulf.
In a press conference on Monday, President Trump emphasized that any ceasefire arrangement must include a commitment from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He set a clear ultimatum: if Tehran had not guaranteed access by 8 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, the administration would carry out strikes against bridges and power plants in Iran. The president warned such attacks would be so severe that it would take Iran "100 years to rebuild." Even so, Trump left open the possibility of negotiation, noting that Iran would "like to make a deal."
Broadcom and Google Expand Their AI Relationship
In corporate developments that drew investor attention away from geopolitics, Broadcom's stock climbed sharply in extended trading after the semiconductor group announced a long-term agreement with Google. Under the deal, Broadcom will collaborate with Google to develop and support custom next-generation processors optimized for artificial intelligence workloads.
Broadcom also said it will supply networking gear and other components for Google's AI rack infrastructure through 2031. Separately, Broadcom agreed to grant AI startup Anthropic access to roughly 3.5 gigawatts of computing capacity derived from Google’s AI processors, with access beginning next year.
Analysts at Vital Knowledge noted in a client memo that the agreements imply potential upside to Broadcom’s prior AI revenue projection, which had been set at greater than $100 billion in 2027.
Samsung Posts a Robust Semiconductor Rebound
Samsung Electronics reported a striking preliminary outlook for the first quarter, attributing a powerful recovery in its semiconductor segment to surging demand for AI-related chips. The company forecast operating profit of roughly 57.2 trillion won, equivalent to about $38 billion, for the January–March period, a figure more than eight times the 6.69 trillion won recorded a year earlier.
Revenue was estimated at approximately 133 trillion won, up from 79.14 trillion won in the same quarter a year ago. Samsung linked the jump in profitability to a rebound in the memory chip market and stronger demand for high-bandwidth memory and other semiconductors used in AI applications, driven by the rapid expansion of generative AI workloads.
Pershing Square Targets Universal Music Group
In European markets, Amsterdam-listed shares of Universal Music Group surged more than 14% after Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital presented an offer to acquire the music company in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at over 55 billion euros. Pershing Square proposed merging Universal with Pershing Square Sparc Holdings to form a new company based in Nevada and to list the combined entity on the New York Stock Exchange.
Universal began trading in Amsterdam in 2021 following a spin-off from the French conglomerate Vivendi. Pershing Square argued in a statement that Universal’s equity had "languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated" to the underlying business and that the proposed transaction could address those concerns. Shares of European media companies, including Vivendi and Bollore, rallied after the bid was announced.
Across macro indicators and corporate headlines, markets grappled with overlapping sources of uncertainty. Geopolitical risk tied to the Strait of Hormuz and the prospect of strikes on Iranian infrastructure combined with domestic data showing a slowing services sector and private credit strains to shape a complex trading backdrop. At the same time, technology and semiconductor developments provided countervailing momentum, as major industry players announced deals and results that underscore how generative AI adoption is reshaping demand for specialized chips and vast compute capacity.
Investors will likely watch closely for any signs of movement on diplomatic talks ahead of the president’s deadline, further corporate updates from the firms involved, and subsequent market reactions to both energy price dynamics and developments in private credit liquidity.