Updated 1 min read
US stock futures hit pause on Friday as investors waited for weekend talks that could cement the shaky Iran war ceasefire, with a war-tinged update on US consumer inflation on deck.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) traded broadly flat, after solid closing gains pushed the blue-chip index into positive territory for 2026. Contracts on the S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) were also little changed on the heels of a seventh winning day in a row.
Investors are focused on the tentative beginnings of diplomatic mediation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to begin negotiations with Lebanon after Iranian officials accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire and shut the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has reissued threats against Iran following news that Tehran will toll tankers attempting to pass through the waterway.
Peace talks are slated to occur this weekend following senior White House officials calling Netanyahu on Wednesday, asking Israel to scale back its strikes on Lebanon. Israel’s official response stated, “There is no ceasefire in Lebanon.”
Looking ahead, investors will turn their attention to economic data releases, including the March consumer price index. Economists expect inflation to rise 0.9% month over month and 3.3% from a year earlier.
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S&P 500 is back above a key level, putting stock market bulls in control: Chart of the Day
Yahoo Finance’s Jared Blikre reports:
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) just reclaimed its 200-day moving average again, tilting the stock market back toward the bulls.
See label (5) on this chart:
It’s never quite that simple, but it doesn’t need to be much more complicated.
The last time the index broke below the 200-day moving average — in March 2025, near label (4) — it lost the line, then bounced back to test it from underneath before selling off hard after “Liberation Day” on April 2. When the S&P later reclaimed that average, it tested it from above. Then it took off.
Those two retests — first from below, then from above — were textbook.
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TSMC sales smash quarterly record as Iran war fails to dent AI demand
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CPI inflation data expected to show energy price spike amid early impacts of Iran war
Government data out Friday will show how much consumer prices rose in March — and forecasts point to soaring inflation, notes Yahoo Finance’s Emma Ockerman.
She reports:
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Gold on track for third consecutive week of gains as Iran war bolsters haven demand
Bloomberg reports:
Gold (GC=F) was headed for a third weekly gain, as hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the war in Iran and sustained buying by central banks outweighed persistent risks around inflation.
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Oil rises as Saudi Arabia loses production capability following drone strikes
Bloomberg reports:
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Meta shuts down ads looking for plaintiffs in social media addiction lawsuit
Reuters reports:
