May 22 (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures climbed on Friday as Treasury yields eased, lifting megacaps and chip stocks, though markets watched for signs of a breakthrough in discussions to end the Middle East war.
Iran’s foreign minister met the interior minister of Pakistan to discuss proposals to end the nearly three-month-old conflict, media reports said.
This comes after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Thursday there had been “some good signs” in the talks, but Tehran and Washington still remain at odds over Iran’s uranium stockpile and control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Global stocks have whipsawed since the conflict began in late February, with most bourses in Europe and Asia yet to ascend to earlier levels.
Wall Street, on the other hand, has climbed back up to record highs this month as rekindled optimism in the AI trade and faith in resilient earnings growth kept equities in demand.
UBS Global Wealth Management raised its 2026 year-end target for the S&P 500 to 7,900 from 7,500, citing resilient consumer spending and seemingly insatiable demand for data center infrastructure.
The recovery, however, is choppy as investors fret about the inflationary impact of surging oil prices, pushing government bond yields higher around the world and hitting risk appetite.
Still, the S&P 500 is on track for an eighth consecutive weekly gain, which would mark its best winning streak since December 2023.
“Geopolitical risk has become less immediately damaging for sentiment, even though it has not disappeared,” said Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at Zaye Capital Markets.
“Markets are still watching U.S.-Iran talks, the Strait of Hormuz and oil-supply risk, but signs of negotiation progress have helped global equities.”
All three main indexes closed higher in a turbulent session on Thursday, with the blue-chip Dow recording its highest ever closing level.
Treasury yields slipped on Friday after a spike earlier this week, with the one on the 10-year U.S. note falling 2.2 basis points to 4.56%.
At 04:55 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis rose 151 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 E-minis added 23 points, or 0.31%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis gained 148 points, or 0.5%.
Most megacap and growth stocks were higher in premarket trading. Nvidia inched up 0.7%, a day after the stock fell 1.7% despite providing a robust quarterly forecast.
Semiconductor stocks, a key driver of recent Wall Street gains, also rose. Intel, AMD, Marvell Technology and Broadcom advanced between 0.9% and 3.2%.
Workday jumped 11.1% after the human resources software provider exceeded expectations for first-quarter revenue and profit.
Take-Two Interactive added 5% after the video game company reiterated the November 19 launch date for the highly awaited “Grand Theft Auto VI” game.
Estée Lauder surged 10.1% after the cosmetics maker and Spanish perfumery Puig ended talks for a potential merger.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump will swear in Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair late in the day at the White House, the Trump administration said.
A final reading of the May U.S. consumer sentiment is also due later in the day.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
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