US STOCKS-Wall St set for higher open on Mideast de-escalation hopes; monthly losses loom
By Purvi Agarwal and Twesha Dikshit
March 31 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were poised to open higher on Tuesday, as markets welcomed a report signaling potential de-escalation in the Middle East conflict that has set the S&P 500 and the Dow on track for their biggest monthly decline in years.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday U.S. President Donald Trump told aides he was willing to end the military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remained largely closed.
The report soothed some investor nerves after a month-long conflict that has battered global markets and left the S&P 500 and the Dow on track for their largest monthly falls since September 2022. The benchmark S&P 500 was also headed for its worst quarter since 2022.
Oil prices were volatile on Tuesday, but were headed for a record monthly gain. The S&P 500 energy index .SPNY has gained more than 11% so far in March, the only sector set to end the month in positive territory. It would also be the sector's biggest quarterly gain on record.
"The move in markets is reflecting what traders want to see, what they hear. They would like to hear that resolution to this is quick and easily contained within one parsimonious sentence," said Mark Malek, CIO at Siebert Financial.
Malek said oil prices were still high because the Strait of Hormuz was closed and that would ultimately "cause damage" to the economy.
Last week, the Dow and the Nasdaq ended 10% below their record high closes, confirming a correction. The small-cap Russell 2000 .RUT confirmed it earlier this month.
At 08:50 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 529 points, or 1.16%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 73.5 points, or 1.15%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 261.75 points, or 1.13%.
Investors will also watch out for the job openings and labor turnover survey (JOLTS) data for February, the first of the labor market reports due in the holiday-shortened week.
Comments from Fed policymakers, including Austan Goolsbee and Michelle Bowman, will also be parsed for any clues on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path after Chair Jerome Powell said on Monday the Fed can wait to assess the impact from the war.
The oil spike stemming from the Iran conflict has revived inflation worries, prompting money market participants to price out any easing from the Fed this year, compared with two cuts expected before the war broke out, per CME Group's FedWatch Tool.
Among premarket movers, shares of Marvell Technology MRVL.O jumped 8.4% after Nvidia invested $2 billion in the chipmaker.
McCormick MKC.N shares fell 1.6%. Unilever ULVR.L agreed to separate its food unit and merge it with McCormick in a cash-and-stock deal valuing the spice maker at about $44.8 billion.
Constellation Energy CEG.O dipped 5% after forecasting 2026 profit below Wall Street expectations.
U.S.-listed shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals 260y.F, CNTA.O surged 45.7% after Eli Lilly LLY.N said it would buy the company in a deal valued at up to $7.8 billion.
