--- title: "Strong Earnings Boost Intel's US Pre-Market Surge by 20%; Oil Rises Amid US-Iran Stalemate; Metals Fall Across the Board" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/283955883.md" description: "Despite a recent decline in geopolitical risk premiums, the US-Iran stalemate remains unresolved, keeping investors cautious ahead of the weekend. The technology sector showed resilience, buoyed by Intel's strong earnings outlook, with Nasdaq 100 futures rising 0.6%. Oil prices climbed, with Brent crude holding above $105; the metals sector generally weakened, with spot silver falling more than 1%. Heightened uncertainty over the Middle East situation has intensified market concerns about the global economic outlook, leading to broad declines in industrial metals such as copper, aluminum, tin, and nickel" datetime: "2026-04-24T13:39:05.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/283955883.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/283955883.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/283955883.md) --- # Strong Earnings Boost Intel's US Pre-Market Surge by 20%; Oil Rises Amid US-Iran Stalemate; Metals Fall Across the Board The US-Iran stalemate continues, exacerbating market fears of escalation and weighing on global equities, though the technology sector has shown relative resilience. Substantial obstruction of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has driven oil prices up for a fifth consecutive day, with Brent crude poised to post its largest weekly gain since the outbreak of conflict. Meanwhile, the unclear Middle East situation is dampening the global economic outlook, pushing metal prices lower. On Friday, April 24, US stock index futures diverged: Dow Jones futures dipped slightly, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose. European stocks mostly opened lower, Asian indices showed mixed performance, and both the 10-year US Treasury yield and Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index were set to record their first weekly gains in a month. Oil prices climbed, with Brent crude maintaining levels above $105 per barrel; metal prices fell, with spot gold dropping over 0.3% and breaking below $4,680 per ounce, and spot silver falling over 1%. Base metals including copper, aluminum, tin, and nickel all declined. Although risk premiums have recently retreated, investors remain cautious ahead of the weekend, with market sentiment hinging on whether the Iran situation will escalate or be resolved diplomatically. Traders are closely monitoring signals from both the US and Iran as well as shipping dynamics to assess energy supply risks. Any interruption in the Strait of Hormuz could drive up oil prices and drag down global growth. In equity markets, the technology sector stood out. Following Intel's release of strong earnings guidance, Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 0.5%. According to a previous Wallstreetcn article, Intel's first-quarter revenue, gross margin, and earnings per share all exceeded the upper end of guidance, marking the sixth consecutive quarter in which the company beat financial expectations. Fawad Razaqzada of Forex.com stated: "There is considerable uncertainty regarding diplomatic relations between the two sides. More worrying is the continued ambiguity surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. With no clear plan for reopening, uncertainty remains high." Key market movements were as follows: > Dow Jones Futures fell 0.07%, S&P 500 Futures rose 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose over 0.6%. > > Euro Stoxx 50 opened down 0.4%, Germany's DAX opened flat, UK FTSE 100 fell 0.5%, and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.7%. > > Nikkei 225 closed up 1% at 59,716.18 points; Japan's TOPIX was virtually unchanged at 3,716.59 points; Korea's KOSPI was virtually unchanged at 6,475.63 points. > > NIFTY IT index fell 5.3%, potentially reaching its lowest level since June 2023. > > The 10-year US Treasury yield remained flat at 4.33%. > > The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index saw little change; USD/JPY turned down 0.1% to 159.60. > > Brent crude rose 1% to $106 per barrel; WTI crude rose 0.5% to $96 per barrel. > > Spot gold fell 0.3% to $4,681.92 per ounce. > > Silver futures fell intraday by 2.0% to $74.42 per ounce; spot silver fell intraday by 1.5% to $74.25 per ounce. Overnight major US indices closed slightly lower, but Intel's after-hours shares surged 20% on sales forecasts that beat expectations, lifting Nasdaq 100 futures. The semiconductor sector maintained its strength during US trading hours, rising for the 17th consecutive day. Despite heightened geopolitical risks driving market volatility, corporate earnings remain resilient. Bloomberg data shows that **nearly 80% of S&P 500 constituents that have reported quarterly results have beaten earnings expectations.** Janus Henderson's Adam Hetts and Oliver Blackbourn noted that while the onset of the Iran conflict has increased market volatility, financial markets have demonstrated relative resilience. Brent crude rose 0.5% to above $105.5 per barrel, having previously given back 1.9% of its gains. Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst based in Zurich for UBS, said: "As long as oil flows through the strait remain restricted, market tightness persists, and oil inventories continue to fall, oil prices will be supported." Uncertainty over the Iran situation has intensified global growth concerns, dragging down base metals across the board. LME copper fell over 0.8%, LME aluminum fell over 0.6%, and LME tin fell 0.4%. Analysts at BMI, part of Fitch Solutions, stated in a report: "Currently, we expect the uncertain global economic outlook to dampen optimism on the supply side." Beyond base metals, precious metals also declined. 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