Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Futures Fall Ahead Of March CPI As Trump Says Iran Isn’t Upholding Ceasefire—

U.S. stocks fell on Friday, following Thursday’s advances. Futures of the major benchmark indices were trading lower as Iran blamed Israel for violating the ceasefire with attacks on Lebanon.

Al Jazeera reported that Israel has launched two raids on the towns of Al Shahabiya and Jabal Al Batm in southern Lebanon.

Apart from the Middle East tensions, investors will be eyeing March’s consumer price index, scheduled to be released before the opening bell,

The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.30%, and the two-year bond was at 3.79%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 98.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in its April meeting.

Stocks In Focus

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) rose 1.81% after it posted a 35% surge in ​first-quarter revenue, amid the rising ‌artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TSM maintains a strong price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a solid growth score.

Rocket Lab

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that RKLB maintains a strong trend in the long and medium terms but a weak trend in the short term.

Simulations Plus

• Simulations Plus Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) jumped 13.24% after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter financial results, but slashing its FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that SLP maintains a weak price trend in the long and medium terms but a strong trend in the short term, with a poor quality score.

urban-gro

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that UGRO maintains a strong price trend over the short, medium, and long terms.

Pony AI

• Pony AI Inc. ADR (NASDAQ:PONY) was up 1.49% following the launch of PonyWorld 2.0, a self-improving physical AI engine for autonomous driving.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that PONY maintains a weak price trend in the short, medium, and long terms.

Cues From Last Session

Communication services, industrials, and consumer discretionary stocks recorded the biggest gains on Thursday, leading most sectors on the S&P 500 to close on a positive note. However, energy and health care stocks bucked the overall market trend, ending the session lower.

Insights From Analysts

Scott Wren, Senior Global Market Strategist at Wells Fargo, remains broadly optimistic about the U.S. stock market despite recent early-year volatility and global conflicts.

He expects 2026 to be a year “where earnings and the S&P 500 Index climb once again to record highs while longer-term bond yields rise modestly.”

However, the economic outlook faces distinct headwinds from the ongoing Iran war, which has triggered a 36% spike in gasoline prices. This energy shock negatively impacts consumer spending, leading Wren to lower his domestic growth forecast to 2.6%.

Furthermore, he anticipates that higher inflation will negate any potential interest-rate reductions, predicting the Federal Reserve will be “standing pat in 2026.”

To offset these challenges, he points to several supportive factors, specifically highlighting “strong artificial intelligence-related capital expenditures, tax rebates coming to consumers this spring as they file their returns, and substantial accumulated deregulation.”

Finally, regarding sector allocations, Wren recently upgraded Information Technology to favorable because it “offers an attractive entry point,” while simultaneously downgrading the Energy sector after it appeared to outrun its fundamentals.

Upcoming Economic Data

Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on this Friday.

• March’s consumer price index and core CPI data will be out by 8:30 a.m. ET.
• February’s factory orders data, and April’s preliminary consumer sentiment data will be out by 10:00 a.m. ET.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 2.31% to hover around $100.13 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar fell 0.69% to hover around $4,732.84 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.10% higher at the 98.9200 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 0.40% higher at $71,507.33 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.

Asian markets closed higher on Friday, except Australia’s ASX 200 index. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, China’s CSI 300, India’s Nifty 50, South Korea’s Kospi, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 indices rose. European markets were also higher in early trade.

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