United States stock futures stayed mostly flat on Wednesday morning. Investors watched the ongoing military conflict in Iran as they waited for huge earnings news from computer chip giant Nvidia. By the early morning hours, Dow Jones futures climbed 27 points, marking a 0.1% increase. The S&P 500 futures gained 12 points for a 0.2% bump, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 122 points, or 0.4%.
The main stock markets actually fell hard on Tuesday. Traders aggressively sold off government bonds because they worry the 2-month-old war in Iran will cause global energy prices to spike. This fear of inflation usually pushes central banks to raise interest rates to protect the economy. To highlight this panic, the yield on the 30-year United States Treasury bond has just hit levels not seen since the global financial crisis nearly 20 years ago.
However, political leaders gave investors some hope on Tuesday night. President Donald Trump told lawmakers that the war in Iran could end very quickly. Earlier this week, Trump canceled a fresh wave of military attacks after leaders from 3 different Gulf countries asked him to pause the aggression. Vice President JD Vance also shared a positive message, telling reporters that leaders in Tehran actually want to negotiate a peace deal.
We already see signs of relief in the global oil market. Shipping data showed that 2 massive Chinese oil supertankers safely sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday. A South Korean ship named the Universal Winner also navigated out of the dangerous waterway. The United States and Israel started the war in late February, which completely shut down tanker traffic along Iran’s southern coast until now. Because commercial ships are moving again, global oil prices dropped slightly. However, Brent crude still costs much more than it did before the war began.
Beyond the Middle East, Wall Street is mostly focused on one massive technology company this week. Nvidia will release its highly anticipated quarterly earnings report right after the closing bell rings today. The company builds the essential computer chips that run advanced artificial intelligence programs. Because major tech companies plan to spend billions on AI infrastructure, investors expect Nvidia to report sky-high profits once again.
Financial analysts feel very confident about Nvidia right now. The company dominates the data center market and recently launched new products, Groq and Vera, to block its rivals. Still, some investors worry about the industry’s future. Technology giants like Google and Amazon want to build their own custom computer chips, and the cost of basic memory chips continues to rise. Traders want to see whether Nvidia can maintain its massive profit margins amid growing competition from other wealthy tech brands.
At the same time, space enthusiasts eagerly await Elon Musk’s release of SpaceX’s financial paperwork. The rocket manufacturer plans to launch its initial public offering on June 12. Financial experts expect this event to be the largest stock market debut in human history. The space company will trade under the ticker symbol SPCX. Market analysts say SpaceX must publish its detailed business prospectus by Wednesday afternoon to meet the aggressive June 12 deadline.
This upcoming financial document will give investors a rare gift. The prospectus will offer regular people their very first chance to read through the secret financial details of SpaceX. Traders will finally see exactly how the rocket company makes its money and who exactly owns the largest pieces of the business.
Finally, investors will carefully read the latest notes from the Federal Reserve. The central bank will publish the minutes from its April policy meeting later today. These notes will show the exact economic challenges waiting for Kevin Warsh. President Trump just selected Warsh as the new Federal Reserve Chair. During the April meeting, officials held interest rates steady but argued heavily over their next moves. Many committee members fear the war in Iran will make everything more expensive for everyday Americans.
The April meeting marked a messy end to Jerome Powell’s 8-year run as the head of the central bank. President Trump constantly attacked Powell and launched several legal battles against the Federal Reserve to force rapid interest rate cuts. In a rare twist, Powell announced last month that he will not leave the bank entirely. He plans to stay on as a regular governor until his term officially ends in early 2028. Powell specifically told reporters he will stay to protect the bank from political pressure and legal threats so they can manage monetary policy properly.
