May 5 (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures advanced on Tuesday, signaling a recovery in equities as oil prices ticked lower even as renewed tensions in the Middle East threatened to upend a fragile truce after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire in the Gulf.
Markets are being pulled in opposite directions by the conflict and the rapidly shifting situation on the ground. While some investors believe worst-case scenarios are still not fully priced in, others argue the focus should remain on underlying economic fundamentals and strong earnings.
Moves have been volatile as a result, vulnerable to sudden reversals as new and often conflicting headlines emerge.
At 5:35 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis gained 124 points, or 0.25%, S&P 500 E-minis rose 23.75 points, or 0.33%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis added 160 points, or 0.58%.
Brent crude futures were down 1.35%, but still trading above $110 a barrel.
“U.S. earnings are on a roll. The broader earnings backdrop looks healthy as well,” BlackRock Investment Institute analysts, led by Global Chief Investment Strategist Wei Li, said in a note.
However, they warned that “even U.S. equities won’t be insulated” if the crucial oil shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz does not open.
Being a net energy exporter, the U.S. has held up better than economies that rely on imports, with the benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite hitting record highs in recent days.
Meanwhile, shares of Pinterest jumped 16.1% in premarket trading after the image-sharing platform forecast second-quarter revenue above analysts’ estimates.
Intel rose 3.8% after a Bloomberg News report that Apple had held exploratory discussions about using Intel and Samsung Electronics to produce the main processors for its devices.
Investors now await the U.S. Labor Department’s latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, due to be released at 10 a.m. ET.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
