The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to extend the upward move seen over the course of the previous session.
Optimism about an end to the conflict in the Middle East is likely to generate early buying interest following an upbeat report from Axios.
Citing two U.S. officials and two other sources briefed on the issue, Axios said the White House believes it's getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war.
Axios said the deal would involve Iran committing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment, the U.S. agreeing to lift its sanctions and release billions in frozen Iranian funds, and both sides lifting restrictions around transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
While noting that nothing has been agreed yet, the sources told Axios this was the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began.
Adding to the optimism about a peace deal, President Donald Trump said the U.S. would pause its efforts to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz to see whether or not the agreement can be finalized and signed.
However, somewhat dampening the hopes for peace, Trump warned in a separate Truth Social post that the U.S. would resume bombing Iran "at a much higher level and intensity than it was before" if they don't reach an agreement.
"Even without a fully detailed agreement, the mere progress toward a framework for de-escalation is enough to alter how risk is being priced," said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com.
"However, it is important to stress that this is still a fragile step rather than a definitive resolution," she added. "A one-page memo suggests that many key details remain unresolved, and past experience has shown that negotiations can quickly stall or reverse."
The upward momentum on Wall Street also comes amid a sharp increase by shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), with the chipmaker soaring by 15.3 percent in pre-market trading.
AMD is surging after reporting first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines and providing upbeat second quarter guidance.
On the U.S. economic front, payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. jumped by more than expected in the month of April.
ADP said private sector employment shot up by 109,000 jobs in April after climbing by a downwardly revised 61,000 jobs in March.
Economists had expected private sector employment to grow by 85,000 jobs compared to the addition of 62,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
After coming under pressure over the course of the previous session, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Tuesday. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 more than offset Monday's losses, reaching new record closing highs.
The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the end of the day but remained firmly positive. 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.
The strength on Wall Street came amid a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures plunging by more than 3 percent after spiking by more than 4 percent on Monday.
Crude oil prices gave back ground amid easing concerns about escalating tensions in the Middle East, as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the U.S.-Iran ceasefire is "not over" despite Iranian attacks against the United Arab Emirates.
"Ultimately the President is going to make a decision whether anything were to escalate into a violation of a ceasefire," Hegseth said. "Right now, the ceasefire certainly holds but we're going to be watching very, very closely."
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine told reporters Iran's attacks fall "below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point."
Hegseth also said two U.S. commercial ships, along with American destroyers, have safely transited the Strait of Hormuz, declaring the "lane is clear."
A positive reaction to some of the latest earnings news also contributed to the strength on Wall Street, with U.S. -listed shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) soaring by 8.7 percent.
The spike by the Budweiser parent came after the company reported first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Institute for Supply Management showed a slight slowdown in the pace of growth in U.S. service sector activity in the month of April.
The ISM said its services PMI slipped to 53.6 in April after falling to 54.0 in March, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 53.7.
Computer hardware stocks moved sharply higher on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 4.4 percent to a record closing high.
Substantial strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 4.2 percent spike by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index also ended the day at a new record closing high.
Intel (INTC) helped lead the sector higher, soaring by 13 percent after a report from Bloomberg said Apple (AAPL) has held exploratory discussions about using the company to produce the main processors for its devices in the U.S.
Airline, steel and housing stocks also saw significant strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are plummeting $6.22 to $96.05 a barrel after plunging $4.15 to $102.27 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $4,684.40, up $115.90 compared to the previous session's close of $4,568.50. On Tuesday, gold jumped $35.20.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.16 yen compared to the 157.87 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1761 compared to yesterday's $1.1692.
Asia
Major stock markets in Asia surged on Wednesday, tracking the strong gains on Wall Street, attributed to AI-momentum and U.S.-Iran peace deal hopes. Equity markets in Japan were closed for a holiday.
Amidst improving geopolitical situation in the Middle East as well as a strong momentum in technology shares, China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.2 percent from the previous close of 4,112.16 to finish trading at 4,160.17.
The day's trading ranged between 4,129.91 and 4,166.15 as investors returned from an extended holiday break. The index has gained more than 25 percent over the course of the past year.
The Hang Seng Index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange shot up 1.2 percent from the previous close to finish trading at 26,213.78. The day's trading range was between a high of 26,213.78 and a low of 25,877.82. The index has added almost 15.7 percent over the course of the past year.
The Korean Stock Exchange's Kospi Index soared 6.45 percent from the previous close of 6,936.99 to close trading at a record high of 7,384.56. The day's trading range was between 7,093.01 and 7,426.60.
Boosted by the global tech rally, the index has recorded a good show, with gains of more than 188 percent over the course of the past year.
With Wednesday's jump of more than 14 percent, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930) witnessed its market cap rising above $1 trillion, lifting it to the 11th most valuable company globally.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index closed trading at 8,793.60, gaining 1.3 percent from the previous close of 8,680.50. The day's trading ranged between 8,680.50 and 8,794.70.
Easing geopolitical tensions, gains on Wall Street as well as strong economic data from top trading partner China supported the rally.
Infratil jumped close to 15 percent amidst its unit CDC Data Centres signing a 555-megawatt data centre contract with a U.S. customer. Infratil holds a 49.7 percent shareholding in the ultimate parent company of CDC. IGO followed with gains of 1.6 percent.
Magellan Financial Group led losses with a decline of 8.9 percent followed by JB Hi-Fi that erased 6.3 percent.
The NZX 50 Index of the New Zealand Stock Exchange advanced 0.8 percent to close trading at 13,145.19. The day's trading ranged between 13,035.70 and 13,208.74 amidst data that showed a drop in unemployment levels. With the day's gains, the benchmark index has gained 5.8 percent over the course of the past year.
Infratil topped gains with a surge of 13.2 percent after its unit secured a large data centre contract. Westpac Banking Corp followed with gains of 4.4 percent. Synlait Milk led losses with a decline of 4.6 percent, followed by Property for Industry that shed 2.9 percent.
Europe
European stock markets are trading on an emphatically positive note on Wednesday amidst growing optimism about a potential peace deal between the U.S. and Iran.
The massive plunge in crude oil prices and the subsiding fears of fuel-led inflation also boosted market sentiment. U.S. stock futures rising to new records as well as strong corporate earnings lifted market sentiment considerably.
U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is trading 2.6 percent above the previous closing level of 10,219.11. It is currently trading at 10,482.96 after ranging between 10,324.72 and 10,487.66.
France's CAC 40 Index has jumped 3.3 percent in the day's trading at its current level of 8,329.49. The day's trading ranged between 8,131.53 and 8,330.44. The index has gained 8.2 percent over the course of the year.
Germany's DAX Index is currently trading at 25,041.89, after jumping 2.7 percent from Tuesday's close of 24,392.27. The day's trading ranged between 24,616.25 and 25,150.39 and witnessed the index touching a 9-week high.
Switzerland's Stock Market Index has also surged 2.3 percent from the previous close of 13,052.17 and is currently trading at 13,348.40. The day's trading ranged between 13,174.20 and 13,377.70.
The pan-European Stoxx 50 Index has rallied 3 percent from previous close of 5,869.63 and is currently trading at 6,045.45. The day's trading ranged between 5,917.95 and 6,065.06.
Amidst renewed hopes of a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran, the safe -haven dollar has retreated. The EUR/USD pair is currently trading 0.7 percent higher at 1.1769 whereas the GBP/USD pair is trading 0.5 percent higher at 1.3621.
Major European markets had closed on a positive note on Tuesday amidst a de-escalation in tensions in the Middle East.
U.S. Economic News
Payroll processor ADP released a report on Wednesday showing private sector employment in the U.S. jumped by more than expected in the month of April.
At 9:30 pm ET, St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem is due to participate in a moderated discussion on the U.S. economy and monetary policy before the Mississippi Bankers Association 2026 Annual Convention.
The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its report on oil inventories in the week ended May 1st at 10:30 am ET. Crude oil inventories are expected to decrease by 2.8 million barrels.
At 1 pm ET, Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee is due to participate on a panel before the Milken Institute Global Conference 2026.
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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.