AVUV

Investing.com- U.S. stock index futures steadied on Thursday evening amid growing caution ahead of upcoming ceasefire talks with Iran, while anticipation of key consumer inflation data also kept investors to the sidelines.
Futures steadied after a positive session on Wall Street, as hopes for de-escalation in the Middle East and a rebound in technology stocks saw the S&P 500 mark seven straight days of gains.
S&P 500 Futures fell 0.1% to 6,854.75 points by 20:03 ET (00:03 GMT). Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.1% to 25,216.50 points, while Dow Jones Futures fell 0.1% to 48,367.0 points.
[[pro_promotion |Get more key insights on Wall St and the Iran war by subscribing to InvestingPro]]
US-Iran ceasefire talks to take place in Pakistan this week
Delegates from the U.S. and Iran are set to meet in Pakistan in the coming days after both sides agreed to a tentative two-week ceasefire earlier in the week.
But Iran almost immediately accused Israel and the U.S. of violating the ceasefire, and demanded that Lebanon be included in any peace deal. Israel said it will separately negotiate a ceasefire with Beirut, as hostilities between the two countries continued.
It was also not immediately clear whether Iran will attend the ceasefire talks, especially after Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan abruptly deleted a social media post stating that an Iranian delegation would arrive in Islamabad on Thursday night.
The ceasefire discussions come amid deep differences on key issues between the U.S. and Iran, with the Strait of Hormuz being a major point of contention. Iran was seen leaving the passage largely blocked this week, despite earlier stating that it would allow safe passage through Hormuz for the duration of the two-week ceasefire.
Still, the prospect of direct U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks– the first since their conflict began in late-February– cheered financial markets, with Wall Street seeing sustained buying this week.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 6,824.63 points on Thursday. The NASDAQ Composite rose 0.8% to 22,822.42 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 48,185.80 points.
Wall Street was also aided by bargain buying after uncertainty over the Iran war sparked deep losses in March. Technology stocks, especially chipmakers, were a major beneficiary of this trend in recent weeks.
Investors bought into tech ahead of key earnings from the sector due in the coming weeks. TSMC (NYSE:TSM), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, will report its first quarter earnings next week, as will chipmaking equipment maker ASML (NASDAQ:ASML).
CPI data awaited for more rate cues
Focus was also on U.S. consumer price index inflation data for March, due on Friday.
The print is expected to show a sharp increase in headline inflation, largely due to rising fuel costs stemming from the Iran war.
Iran’s closure of Hormuz sparked a global increase in oil and gas prices, which translates into higher fuel and utility costs.
The CPI data comes just days after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March meeting showed policymakers concerned over the inflationary effects of the Iran war. Any signs of increasingly sticky inflation are likely to give the Fed less impetus to cut interest rates this year.
The CPI print comes after PCE price index data for February read in line with expectations on Thursday. The PCE print is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.
Gross domestic product data on Thursday also showed U.S. economic growth was substantially slower than initially expected in the fourth quarter.