Wall St futures inch up after report on Iran-US talks to end war
March 4 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures reversed losses and were marginally higher on Wednesday as investors assessed a report that suggested Iranian operatives were discussing terms to end the five-day conflict with Israel and the United States.
A New York Times report said operatives from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence had reached out indirectly to the C.I.A. a day after the attacks began, according to officials briefed on the outreach.
However, U.S. officials are skeptical, at least in the short term, that either the Trump administration or Iran is really ready for an off-ramp, the report said.
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Travel stocks that are sensitive to oil prices and bore the brunt of losses earlier this week turned higher after the report on Wednesday. Delta Airlines UAL.O added 1% in premarket trading and Carnival CCL.N edged up 0.4%.
Oil and gas producers such as ConocoPhillips COP.N slipped 0.2% and Cheniere Energy LNG.N was flat.
Global markets also took comfort from U.S. President Donald Trump's announcements of a U.S. Naval escort for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz and political risk insurance.
More: US troops killed identified; more soldiers on the way. Iran updates.
The air campaign between the U.S.-Israel coalition and Iran was entering its fifth day and concerns are that Tehran's threat to attack vessels navigating the strategic Strait of Hormuz could push shipping costs and drive crude prices to a worrying $100 a barrel. Several Middle Eastern countries have also temporarily halted oil and gas production.
After two volatile sessions for Wall Street, investors scooped up technology stocks that sold off heavily in February such as Nvidia , up 1.4% on the day.
At 05:28 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 19 points, or 0.04%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 11 points, or 0.16%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 56 points, or 0.23%.
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(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Devika Syamnath)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US stock futures inch up after report on Iran-US talks to end war
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