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US Equity Futures Decline Pre-Bell as Investors Turned Wary Amid Stalled US-Iran Peace Talks

-- US equity futures were lower pre-bell Thursday as the market turned wary amid the lack of clarity regarding the Middle East situation, with peace talks stalled indefinitely after President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.4% lower, S&P 500 futures were down 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.1% lower.

Iran said Wednesday it had captured two container vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, while the US is maintaining its blockade of Iranian ports.

Trump has said that the ceasefire is extended until Iran's "fractured" government can come up with a unified proposal regarding the end of the conflict.

Traders took note of today's round of earnings, with American Express (AXP) posting higher Q1 earnings and revenue and Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) reporting increases in fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue. Intel (INTC) and SAP (SAP) are set to report their results after market close.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 0.2% at $101.72 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 0.2% higher at $92.77 per barrel.

Initial jobless claims rose to a level of 214,000 in the employment survey week ended April 18 from an upwardly revised 208,000 level in the previous week, compared with expectations for an increase to 210,000 in survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index came in at negative 0.20 in March, compared with expectations for negative 0.13 and down from 0.03 in the prior month.

The April S&P Global Composite Purchasing Managers' Index, due at 9:45 am ET, is seen coming in at 50.6.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.8% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.3% lower. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.6%, and Germany's DAX index was 0.2% lower in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, IBM (IBM) shares were down 7.9% despite posting late Wednesday Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue. Tesla (TSLA) stock was 3.3% lower after the company issued higher-than-expected 2026 capital expenditure guidance for 2026. Thermo Fisher Scientific shares were down 7.1% after the company posted its Q1 financial results.

On the winning side, Texas Instruments (TXN) shares were up 11% after the company posted higher Q1 earnings and revenue in addition to issuing Q2 guidance that exceeded analyst expectations. Netflix (NFLX) stock was up by 1.2% after Bloomberg reported that the company was is in talks to purchase a historic Los Angeles movie studio space for a fragment of its 2021 sale price of $1.85 billion. The company also said it authorized an additional $25 billion share repurchase program.

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