The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Tuesday, with stocks likely to regain ground after coming under pressure over the course of the previous session.
Early buying interest may be generated in reaction to a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil, as U.S. crude oil futures are plunging by more than 3 percent after spiking by more than 4 percent on Monday.
The substantial decrease by the price of crude oil comes despite lingering concerns about escalating tensions in the Middle East.
In an interview with Fox News on Monday, President Donald Trump warned Iran would be "blown off the face of the earth" if it targeted U.S. ships safeguarding commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that "two U.S. commercial ships, along with American destroyers, have already safely transited the strait, showing the lane is clear."
A positive reaction to some of the latest earnings news may also contribute to strength on Wall Street, with U.S. -listed shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev surging by 6.6 percent in pre-market trading.
The spike by the Budweiser parent comes after the company reported first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
Shares of Pfizer (PFE) are also seeing notable pre-market strength after the drug giant reported better than expected first quarter results.
After showing a lack of direction early in the session, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Monday. The major averages all moved to the downside on the day, with the Dow showing a notable decline.
The Dow slumped 557.37 points or 1.1 percent to 48,941.90, the S&P 500 fell 29.37 points or 0.4 percent to 7,200.75 and the Nasdaq dipped 46.64 points or 0.2 percent to 25,067.80.
The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came amid a substantial increase by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures surging by more than 4 percent.
Crude oil prices spiked after a social media post from the United Arab Emirates's Defense Ministry said four cruise missiles launched from Iran were detected toward various areas across the country.
"Three were successfully engaged over the country's territorial waters, while one fell in the sea," the post continued. "The Ministry of Defense affirmed that the sounds heard in different parts of the country are a result of air defence systems engaging threats."
A report from Reuters indicating a fire broke out at a major oil industry zone in the U.A.E. following an Iranian drone attack also added to concerns about a re-escalation of the Middle East conflict.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump said he would be reviewing a new peace proposal from Iran but said he "can't imagine that it would be acceptable."
"They have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years," Trump said of Iran in a post on Truth Social.
Trump said in a separate post that the U.S. would soon begin helping to "free" ships from countries not involved with the Middle East dispute that are stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
"If, in any way, this Humanitarian process is interfered with, that interference will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully," Trump said.
The news of the president's plan comes amid reports Iran's Navy has blocked "American-Zionist" warships from entering the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state media also claimed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hit a U.S. warship with two missiles, although U.S. Central Command denied the report and said, "No U.S. Navy ships have been struck."
Transportation stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, resulting in a 4.8 percent nosedive by the Dow Jones Transportation Average.
Significant weakness also emerged among housing stocks, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index plunging by 3.4 percent.
Banking, steel and gold stocks also came under pressure over the course of the session, while oil producer and biotechnology stocks turned in strong performances.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are plunging $3.45 to $102.97 a barrel after spiking $4.48 to $106.42 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after plunging $111.20 to $4,533.30 ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $44.20 to $4,577.50 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 157.74 yen compared to the 157.22 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1692 compared to yesterday's $1.1690.
Asia
Asian equity markets slipped on Tuesday, weighed down by tensions in the Middle East amid efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The hawkish interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia also weighed on sentiment. Markets in China, Japan and South Korea were closed for holidays.
The Hang Seng Index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange slid 0.8 percent from the previous close to finish trading at 25,898.61. The day's trading range was between a high of 25,945.75 and a low of 25,690.36. The index has gained more than 15 percent over the course of the past year.
Australia's S&P/ASX200 Index closed trading at 8,680.50, slipping 0.2 percent from the previous close of 8,697.10, amidst the Reserve Bank of Australia's widely anticipated interest rate hike. The day's trading ranged between 8,621.60 and 8,697.10. The index has gained 6.4 percent over the course of the past year.
Capricorn Metals led gains with an addition of 9.3 percent followed by Ventia Services Group that rallied 5.7 percent. Codan plunged 9.4 percent followed by IDP Education that erased 7.1 percent.
The NZX 50 Index of the New Zealand Stock Exchange shed 0.5 percent to close trading at 13,035.70. The day's trading ranged between 12,948.76 and 13,097.68. The index has gained 4.9 percent over the past year.
Tourism Holdings topped gains with a surge of 4.5 percent. Vista Group International followed with a gain of 2.6 percent. Westpac Banking Corp led losses with a decline of 3.7 percent, followed by Mainfreight that shed 3.4 percent.
Europe
The major European markets, with the exception of the U.K., are gaining ground on Tuesday despite an escalation in tensions on the Middle East. Disappointing earnings from HSBC Holdings are weighing on the banking sector in the U.K. market, contributing to its weakness.
The U.S. and Iran are indulging in attacks in the Gulf amid rising tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's parliament speaker said today that U.S. actions were endangering shipping and energy transit in the Strait of Hormuz.
"Shipping and energy transit security have been endangered by the United States and its allies through breaching the ceasefire and imposing a blockade," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a post on X.
He said a "new equation" was taking shape in the strategic waterway, and added, "We know well that the continuation of the status quo is unbearable for America, while we have not even started yet."
The pan European Stoxx 600 Index is up by about 0.5 percent. Germany's DAX Index is gaining 1.5 percent and France's CAC 40 Index is up 0.7 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 is Index down 1.3 percent.
In the German market, Infineon is rising 4.3 percent. Commerzbank, Siemens and Siemens Energy are gaining 2.7 percent-3.5 percent.
Rheinmetall is up 3 percent after reporting a 7.7 percent jump (y-o-y) in first quarter earnings to 1.94 billion euros.
Scout 24 is rising nearly 2 percent thanks to JP Morgan maintaining its buy rating for the stock. Hugo Boss surged nearly 5 percent, riding on stronger than expected quarterly results. However, it turned weak subsequently, and was down in negative territory with a loss of about 0.5 percent a little while ago.
Continental, Daimler Truck Holding, Heidelberg Materials, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom and SAP are up 1 percent-2 percent.
Fresenius Medical Care is down more than 6 percent after reporting a bigger than expected drop in first quarter net profits.
Fresenius is declining by about 1.4 percent and Deutsche Post is down 1.3 percent.
In the French market, Teleperformance is gaining 4.3 percent, while Bouygues, Schneider Electric, Orange and Vinci are up 2 percent-2.5 percent.
Airbus, ArcelorMittal, Thales, Bureau Veritas, Safran, STMicroelectronics, Veolia Environment, Legrand, Eurofins Scientific and BNP Paribas are gaining 1 percent-2 percent.
Sanofi is down 4.6 percent. Danone, EssilorLuxottica, Capgemini, Renault and Stellantis are also weak, albeit with less pronounced losses.
In the UK market, HSBC Holdings is down nearly 6 percent. In the first quarter, the lender's profit before tax was $9.38 billion, lower than $9.48 billion last year, reflecting higher expected credit losses and other credit impairment charges, among others.
Lloyds Banking Group and Standard Chartered Bank are down 2.9 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively. Natwest Group is declining by 1.7 percent and Barclays is down by about 1 percent.
Entain is down more than 5 percent. Weir Group, Legal & General, Aviva, Haleon, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Unilever, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Standard Life, Marks & Spencer, Reckitt Benckiser and Fresnillo are down 2 percent-4 percent.
Intertek Group is rising more than 7 percent. BT Group is up 3.7 percent, while Polar Capital Technology Trust, BAE Systems, Spirax Group and Compass Group are up 1.5 percent-2 percent. Airtel Africa, Pearson, Endeavour Mining and The Sage Group are also notably higher.
Data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited (SMMT) showed UK new car sales rose by 24 percent year-over-year in April 2026, reaching 149,247 registrations, reflecting a rebound from a weak April 2025.
U.S. Economic News
With imports increasing by modestly more than exports, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing the U.S. trade deficit widened roughly in line with economist estimates in the month of March.
The Commerce Department said the trade deficit grew to $60.3 billion in March from a revised $57.8 billion in February.
Economists had expected the trade deficit to increase to $60.4 billion from the $57.3 billion originally reported for the previous month.
The wider trade deficit came as the value of imports surged by 2.3 percent to $381.2 billion, while the value of exports jumped by 2.0 percent to $320.9 billion.
At 10 am ET, the Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release its report on service sector activity in the month of April.
The services PMI is expected to edge down to 53.7 in April from 54.0 in March, although a reading above 50 would still indicate growth.
The Commerce Department is also due to release its report on new home sales in the month of March at 10 am ET. New home sales are expected to come in at an annual rate of 668,000.
Also at 10 am ET, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its report on job openings in the month of March. Job openings are expected to decrease to 6.656 million in March from 6.882 million in February.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman is also due to speak before the 2026 Women in Housing and Finance Symposium at 10 am ET.
At 12:30 pm ET, Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr is scheduled to participate in a "Banking Regulation" conversation at Magdalen College.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.