Key Takeaways

• Futures nudge up: Dow futures rose 96 points (+0.2%), S&P 500 futures inched up 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were mostly unchanged.
• Iran narrative “hopeful but uncertain”: Vital Knowledge says the White House is “extremely eager to avoid escalation” but “large differences still need to be ironed out.”
• Pakistan diplomacy continues: Iran’s foreign minister met Pakistan’s interior minister to bridge gaps in peace proposals.
• Rubio’s measured optimism: The U.S. Secretary of State said talks show “good signs” but flagged he didn’t want to be “overly optimistic.”
• Gaps narrowing: A senior Iranian official told Reuters differences in negotiations have shrunk.
• Hormuz toll rejected: Trump opposes Iran and Oman’s plan to establish a toll system for Hormuz passage.
• Strait still shut: Tanker traffic through Hormuz remains all but halted.
• Brent climbs: Oil rose 2.6% to $105.24 per barrel.
• Take-Two explodes: Shares spiked after quarterly net bookings beat and GTA VI’s November 19 launch was reaffirmed.
• GTA VI record expected: CEO Strauss Zelnick said the game will “establish new record levels of operating performance” in fiscal 2027.
• Workday soars: Q1 results topped expectations with upbeat guidance despite AI competition pressures.
• Zoom rallies 8%: Strong earnings and guidance lifted the communications platform.
• IBM quantum wins: U.S. government awarded $2 billion to IBM and others to develop quantum wafer facilities.
• Estee Lauder jumps: Shares gained after the cosmetics giant and Spain’s Puig terminated merger talks.

U.S. stock futures hovered broadly above the flatline on Friday, while oil prices ticked higher, as investors cautiously eyed media reports around talks to end the ongoing war in Iran.

By 06:45 ET (10:45 GMT), the Dow futures contract had risen by 96 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures had inched up by 7 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were mostly unchanged.

The main averages on Wall Street rose in the prior session, but saw some early pressure, weighed down by a report that Iran’s Supreme Leader had issued a directive to not allow enriched uranium to leave the country — denting hopes for an immediate detente with the United States.

Iran Diplomacy Inches Forward

Iran’s foreign minister has met with the interior minister of Pakistan, with discussions focused on bridging key divides between the U.S. and Tehran over peace proposals, Iranian media reported.

The gathering comes two days after Pakistan presented Iran with the latest U.S. message in the negotiations, Reuters reported, citing the semi-official Tasnim and ISNA news agencies. Islamabad has frequently acted as a mediator between the United States and Iran.

According to ISNA, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi is attempting to forge a framework for ending the war and resolving differences between both sides.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said discussions have shown “good signs” of progress, although he flagged that he did not want to be “overly optimistic” and was waiting to “see what happens over the next few days.” Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official quoted by Reuters said that gaps in negotiations have narrowed.

Washington and Iran are now locked in a protracted ceasefire that has lasted longer than the initial phase of bombardments which began in late February. The U.S. and Israel launched a joint assault on Iran, sparking a wave of attacks that spread to other areas of the Middle East, including major energy-producing Gulf nations.

Questions are also swirling around the status of the Strait of Hormuz, with President Donald Trump opposing efforts by Iran and Oman to establish a toll system for traversing the narrow conduit through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil transits. Crucially, the strait remains all but closed to tanker traffic.

Brent crude prices, the global oil benchmark, were last higher by 2.6% at $105.24 a barrel.

Take-Two Surges on GTA VI Countdown

In individual stocks, shares of Take-Two Interactive Software spiked in premarket U.S. trading after the group reported quarterly net bookings that beat expectations and reaffirmed a November 19 launch date for its highly anticipated video game “Grand Theft Auto VI.”

Take-Two develops and publishes a wide variety of games across its Rockstar Games, 2K, and Zynga labels. Its most popular title is Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series, with the fifth edition having sold over 225 million units since its 2013 launch — making it the second-highest selling video game of all time.

CEO Strauss Zelnick said “Grand Theft Auto VI” would “establish new record levels of operating performance” for Take-Two in fiscal 2027.

Tech and Quantum Movers

Shares of Workday soared on first-quarter results that topped expectations. The company provided guidance that was viewed as upbeat during a period when software stocks have broadly been pressured by competition from cutting-edge AI models.

Zoom Communications climbed about 8% after posting strong earnings and guidance.

Shares of companies with quantum computing activities also rose, extending a rally from the prior session sparked by a report that the U.S. government had awarded $2 billion to IBM and other firms to spur development of quantum wafer facilities.

Separately, Estee Lauder’s shares jumped after the U.S. cosmetics giant and Spanish beauty brand Puig announced they had terminated discussions over a possible tie-up that would have created one of the world’s biggest beauty companies.