<ul>
<li>Futures up: Dow 0.05%, S&amp;P 500 0.01%, Nasdaq 0.05%</li>
<li>Lower crude prices lift airlines, cruise stocks</li>
<li>Hewlett Packard shares rise on strong quarterly revenue forecast</li>
</ul>
By Johann M Cherian and Utkarsh Hathi
March 10 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were steady on Tuesday, as investors hoped for a quicker resolution to the Middle East conflict that has led to a spike in energy prices and stoked inflation worries, following President Donald Trump’s comments on the war.
Crude and natural gas prices eased from the worrying $120 per barrel mark after Trump said on Monday that the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran could be nearing an end, sooner than his earlier four-to-five-week timeline.
However, the enthusiasm came with an element of caution as Iran said it would continue its oil blockade through the region, prompting Trump to threaten stronger military retaliation.
Energy producers in the Middle East are yet to resume full-scale production, and shipping costs are likely to be elevated for a while.
“There is still the risk that the conflict and/or disruption to global oil supplies could drag on for longer than President Trump desires as the outcome is not entirely dependent on U.S. military plans,” analysts at MUFG said in a note.
Still, lower energy prices on Tuesday offered some relief to beaten-down travel stocks. Airlines American (AAL.O) and Delta (DAL.O) gained 1.6% and 0.7%, respectively, in premarket trading, while cruise companies Carnival (CCL.N) and Royal Caribbean (RCL.N) rose marginally.
Energy companies ConocoPhillips (COP.N) and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) were down 1.4% and 0.7%, while Occidental (OXY.N) fell 3%.
Surging crude prices since the start of the conflict have revived concerns that the U.S. economy could slip into stagflation and complicate the Federal Reserve’s work, as data also suggested the labor market was weakening.
Traders have priced in a potential 25 basis point rate cut around September, according to LSEG-compiled data.
At 07:21 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis (YMcv1) were up 26 points, or 0.05%, S&amp;P 500 E-minis (EScv1) were up 0.75 points, or 0.01%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis (NQcv1) were up 12 points, or 0.05%.
Global markets, including equities in Asia and Europe, also rallied, while Wall Street’s fear gauge, the CBOE’s volatility index (.VIX) , dropped 0.87 points to 24.63.
Two inflation reports due later this week will be scrutinized for how inflation fared before the Middle East conflict, though unlikely to reflect the recent surge in energy and shipping costs.
Overall losses on Wall Street, since the start of the war, have been contained, as technology stocks (.SPLRCT) rebounded, making them the best performing sector on the S&amp;P 500 (.SPX) this month with a 1.4% gain.
Chipmakers were higher on Tuesday, with SanDisk (SNDK.O) and Western Digital (WDC.O) up around 1% each.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE.N) gained 2.2% after the networking equipment maker forecast second-quarter revenue above estimates.
Investors are keenly awaiting results from enterprise software maker Oracle (ORCL.N) , expected later in the day, and will scrutinize any signs of debt-fueled AI-spending. Shares of the company were up 1.3%.
Reflecting a broad risk-on mood, crypto stocks such as Strategy (MSTR.O) added 2.6% and Coinbase (COIN.O) climbed 2.5%, tracking a 2.4% rise in bitcoin (BTC=) .

FTXL

SOXQ

- U.S. stock index futures showed slight gains as investors anticipated a resolution to the Middle East conflict, with Dow futures up 0.05% and S&P 500 futures up 0.01%.  
- Lower crude prices have positively influenced airlines and cruise stocks, while energy producers faced declines amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions.  
- Analysts remain cautious about potential prolonged disruptions to oil supplies, as traders prepare for upcoming inflation reports and the impact on monetary policy.

Reuters

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US STOCKS-Wall St futures steady on hopes for early end to Middle East conflict