US stock index futures mixed as Mideast stalemate keeps oil risks in focus

By Niket Nishant and Utkarsh Hathi

April 28 (Reuters) – Futures tracking the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 indexes fell on Tuesday as concerns mounted that the U.S.-Iran impasse could keep oil prices elevated for longer.

A U.S. official said President Donald Trump was unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal ​on resolving the conflict in the Middle East, pouring cold water on hopes for a deal that had sent the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100, and the Nasdaq Composite to record highs in recent days.

At 7:00 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis rose 203 points, or 0.41%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 15 points, or 0.21%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis fell 178.75 points, or 0.65%.

The pullback underscores how strongly the war is shaping market sentiment even during the busiest week of the U.S. corporate earnings season this quarter.

“The U.S. and Israel are not able to force a settlement of the war with Iran that achieves most of their maximalist objectives,” wrote Hasnain Malik, head of geopolitical risk at Tellimer Research.

“Resolution of the war, via military or diplomatic means, still looks a long way off, even though the ceasefire is holding.”

Oil prices are 43% higher than pre-war levels as the crucial shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted. 

“The divergence between equity market optimism and the more cautious signals from bond and oil markets reinforces the view that geopolitical developments remain an active and important variable in risk management,” said Ameriprise Financial’s chief market strategist, Anthony Saglimbene.    

Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI had missed internal targets for weekly users and revenue.

Shares of Oracle, whose reliance on OpenAI for its cloud computing ambitions has been under scrutiny, fell 6.3% in the premarket session.

Chip stocks also dropped, with Nvidia, AMD and Arm Holdings down 1.5%, 4.1% and 6.9%, respectively.

Meanwhile, investors are scrutinizing earnings from a bunch of corporate giants on Tuesday.

United Parcel Service dipped 2.1% after the logistics firm reported a sharp drop in quarterly adjusted profit. 

General Motors rose 5% after the automaker lifted its full-year earnings forecast on a resilient U.S. car market and an expected tariff refund. 

Coca-Cola shares gained 2% after the beverage giant lifted its annual adjusted profit forecast. 

Music-streaming platform Spotify fell 10% after forecasting second-quarter profit below estimates. 

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)