Investor sentiment is trending positive after U.S. President Donald Trump, in a social media post, said that U.S. is pausing its operations in the Middle East for a short period of time to guide stranded ships through the Strait of Hormuz. However, U.S. will continue with blockade of Iran's ports.
Oil prices are falling sharply. Brent crude oil is below $100 a barrel.
Initial signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open significantly higher.
As of 7.40 am ET, the Dow futures were up 528.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 69.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 456.75 points.
The U.S. major averages remained firmly positive at the close on Tuesday. The Nasdaq jumped 258.32 points or 1 percent to 25,326.13, the S&P 500 advanced 58.47 points or 0.8 percent to 7,259.22 and the Dow climbed 356.35 points or 0.7 percent to 49,298.25.
On the economic front, the ADP Employment Report for April will be issued at 8.15 am ET. The consensus is 85000, while it was up 62,000 in the prior month.
The Energy Information Administration or EIA's Petroleum Status Report for the week will be released at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the crude oil inventories were down 6.2 million barrels and the gasoline inventories were down 6.1 million barrels.
St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem will participate in moderated discussion on the U.S. economy and monetary policy before the Mississippi Bankers Association 2026 Annual Convention at 9.30 am ET.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee will participate on panel before the Milken Institute Global Conference 2026 at 1.00 pm ET.
Asian stocks advanced on Wednesday. Chinese benchmark Shanghai Composite index climbed 48.01 points, or 1.17 percent, to 4160.17. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended 1.22 percent higher at 26213.78.
Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 228.20 points, or 0.38 percent, to 59,513.12.
Australian markets advanced. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 113.10 points, or 1.30 percent, to 8793.60.
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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.