Iran is reportedly seized two cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz, meanwhile President Donald Trump said he was extending the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open higher on Wednesday.
In the Asian trading session, gold traded higher. Spot gold rebounded to trade 0.8 percent higher at $4,757 an ounce.
Oil prices traded higher. Brent crude futures were up 0.8 percent at $99.27 a barrel after settling 3.5 percent higher the previous day. WTI crude futures edged up by 0.9 percent to $90.46.
As of 7.40 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 277.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were gaining 39.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were up 185.75 points.
The U.S. major averages finished lower on Tuesday. The S&P 500 is down 19.31 points or 0.3 percent at 7,089.83, the Dow is down 104.03 points or 0.2 percent at 49,338.53 and the Nasdaq is down 23.02 points or 0.1 percent at 24,381.37.
On the economic front, the Energy Information Administration or EIA's Petroleum Status Report for the week will be issued at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the Crude Oil Inventories were down 0.9 million barrels and the Gasoline inventories were down 6.3 million barrels.
Twenty-year Treasury Bond Auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.
Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday. China's Shanghai Composite index ended up 0.52 percent at 4,106.26. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.22 percent to 26,163.24.
Japanese markets eked out modest gains. The Nikkei average edged up by 0.40 percent to 59,585.86. The broader Topix index fell 0.67 percent to 3,744.99.
Australian markets fell sharply. The benchmark S&P/ASX fell 1.18 percent to 8,843.60 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed 1.12 percent lower at 9,074.40.
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.