Futures linked to the DOW JONES index fell 0.45% to 46,781.50 points, while those of the S&P 500 lost 0.38%, to 6,690.90 points. NASDAQ 100 futures fell 0.37% to 24,689.40 points.
Wall Street is coming off a day yesterday in which the three major indices closed positive for the second consecutive day: the DOW JONES rose 0.10%, while the S&P 500 added 0.25%. The one that had the best performance was the technological one Nasdaqwith an increase of 0.47%.
Today the market also seems to find support in a slight lull in the price of oil after The Iraqi Government and the Kurdish authorities will reach an agreement to resume oil exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhanwhich slightly alleviates concerns about supply from the Middle East.
Furthermore, the French Minister of Finance, Roland Lescure, has assured that France is willing to support the US in the security of the Strait of Hormuzalthough it has first requested a de-escalation. «We are willing to do something to liberate the Strait of Hormuz, as long as there is no war situation. Nobody wants to cross the Strait of Hormuz if there is a risk of being attacked with missiles or drones,» he said in statements to the CNBC. Yesterday, US President Donald Trump assured through Truth Social that the US did not need the help of its NATO allies in the Middle East.
In this way, American West Texas oil futures lost a slight 0.02% to $95.50 per barrel, although the international benchmark Brent crude oil was paid at $105.87, with an increase of 2.32%. Prices remain very high – Brent has been above $100 for 4 days – while the war between the US and Israel against Iran has already entered its third week.
In addition, the situation in the Middle East has led US President Donald Trump to postpone his expected trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, delaying efforts to ease tension between the world’s two largest economies.
But today the news about the war in Iran shares the attention of investors with the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the US Federal Reserve. Although investors assume that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged in the range of 3.5% to 3.75%, they will have to pay attention to what Jerome Powell says about the potential impact of rising energy prices on both inflation and US economic growth.
On the macroeconomic agenda, it has been known the producer price index (IPP), which rises at an annual rate in February of 3.4%well above the 2.9% that analysts had predicted. In monthly terms the increase was 0.7%, compared to the expected 0.3%.
«Markets continue to operate with some caution in the face of the Federal Reserve’s decision and high oil prices. While the Federal Reserve is likely to keep rates stable, investors will watch how monetary policymakers address the conflict with Iran in the context of inflationary risks and possible impacts on growth prospects,» explains Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial. The expert believes that the strong corporate earnings outlook is providing critical support to US stocks.
While waiting for its final blows, the results season has been very positive: According to the calculations of Bankinter analysts, the average increase in earnings per share is 14.2%, compared to the expected 8.8% before the publication of the first company. The qualitative balance is as follows: 72% exceed expectations, 5% are in line and the remaining 23% disappoint. In the last quarter (Q3 2025) earnings per share increased by 14.9%, compared to the expected 8.5%.
Among the few companies that remain to be published, one of the most anticipated reports is that of Micron Technology, although we will have to wait until the close of today’s regular session to find out. Wall Street predicts earnings per share of $8.77 and revenue of $19.03 billion.
Early in the morning Macy’s presented accounts, which put on the table adjusted earnings of $1.67 per share on revenue of $7.64 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of $1.53 per share and revenue of $7.62 billion.
For the fiscal year, the retail giant behind Bloomingdale’s expects sales of between $21.4 billion and $21.65 billion and adjusted earnings per share between $1.90 and $2.10. Macy’s shares register gains of almost 7% in New York morning.
Yesterday at the closing, Lululemon presented its accounts, which beat market expectations with its fourth quarter accounts, but presented lower-than-expected fiscal 2026 sales and earnings forecasts. Lululemon forecast sales of between $11.35 billion and $11.5 billion, below analyst consensus expectations of $11.52 billion. Its earnings forecast of $12.10 to $12.30 per share also missed consensus estimates of $12.58.
In the fourth quarter, the sports apparel company earned $5.01 per share, versus $4.78 expected, while revenue totaled $3.64 billion, versus $3.58 billion expected.
DocuSign beat fourth-quarter estimates and provided strong guidance for the first quarter and fiscal year. The company expects revenue in the first quarter of between $822 and $826 millionwhile analysts expected 813 million.
Nuclear technology company Oklo posted an annual loss of 72 cents per share, compared with a loss of 74 cents per share a year earlier.
In other news, NVIDIA shares rise nearly 1% after Reuters reported that the chipmaker has gained approval from the Chinese government to sell its H200 chips in China. According to the British agency, the company is also preparing to launch a version of its Groq AI chip in China.