Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Futures Climb Amid Iran Diplomacy Hopes, AI Rally: IONQ, VKTX, INFQ, BB Stocks In Focus

• Trump told reporters that U.S. chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met with Iranian officials for about three hours.
• Oil prices declined as hopes for U.S.-Iran diplomacy increased after the meeting. 
• Meanwhile, the rally in AI stocks continued on Tuesday on optimism around Meta’s Muse AI launch. 

U.S. stock futures edged higher in the overnight session late Tuesday after President Donald Trump confirmed that U.S. and Iranian officials met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, stoking hopes for a movement in diplomacy between the two countries, even as a rally in artificial intelligence stocks continued. 

Dow futures climbed 0.07%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.01%. The Nasdaq-100 edged 0.04% lower at 10:00 PM EDT.  

On Tuesday, the three benchmark indexes closed mixed. The Nasdaq Composite jumped to a fresh 52-week high and closed up 0.45%. 

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.36% at close, and the S&P 500 index was flat. 

Key US Market Drivers

Geopolitical issues and AI stocks were top of mind for investors on Tuesday. Trump said that U.S. and Iranian officials had met during the day, shortly after he threatened in his address to the U.N. General Assembly that he may “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal is not completed soon. 

Trump told reporters on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly that U.S. chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met with Iranian officials for about three hours.

“It was a very good meeting,” Trump said, adding that the Iranian officials were “not the highest level, but it’s something.”

Witkoff, meanwhile, in a post on X, also confirmed the meeting, saying, “Today, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, we engaged in lengthy talks with the Iranian delegation through the mediators, who shuttled between the two sides throughout the day. They successfully completed a round of discussions that we hope will prove constructive and promising. The mediators will continue their work.”

Institutional TMT research analyst Nicholas Mugalli noted in a post on X, “President of Iran lands in New York for the first time since the start of the War. A deal with the United States is now imminent…”

Oil prices declined amid hopes for U.S.-Iran diplomacy increased after the meeting. 

At the time of writing, Brent crude futures expiring in November slipped below the $100-a-barrel threshold to $99.17, while WTI crude futures expiring in October traded at $94.59 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the rally in AI stocks continued on Tuesday on optimism around Meta Platforms Inc.’s (META) Muse AI launch. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) added about 2.4% at close, while the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) rose nearly 2%. 

AI optimism has increased despite a spending boom as investment across the hyperscaler ecosystem surges. "We maintain our constructive outlook on the AI trade, supported by rising adoption and monetization, as well as growing capital spending," Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, chief investment officer Americas and global head of equities at UBS’ Chief Investment Office, told Reuters.

Long-dated Treasury Yields also eased on Tuesday. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield slipped from its 5% threshold to 4.955% at the time of writing, while the U.S. 30-year Treasury yield traded at 5.295%.

Markets will watch the meeting between Trump and Jinping scheduled for Thursday, where the leaders are expected to discuss tariffs, critical minerals, AI, and other economic issues. The U.S.-China trade truce is set to expire in early November.

Trending Stocks To Watch 

IonQ Inc. (IONQ): Shares gained more than 9% in the overnight session late Tuesday after the quantum computing hardware developer announced a multi-year strategic deal with South Korea’s SDT Inc. to expand quantum computing and quantum networking across the Asia-Pacific market.

Viking Therapeutics Inc. (VKTX): The company’s stock jumped more than 35% at close and continued to climb higher overnight after it said that early data showed its experimental obesity injection kept weight off for most patients when they took it every other week or once a month. 

Infleqtion Inc. (INFQ): The company drew retail attention after its stock climbed 3% in overnight trading late Tuesday ahead of the Quantum World Congress 2026, which starts Wednesday in Maryland. The Infleqtion Quantum Congressional Dinner on Capitol Hill during the IMPACT 250 summit, which ends Wednesday, also added to optimism. 

BlackBerry Ltd. (BB): Shares of the Canadian technology company closed 1% higher on Tuesday and continued to climb in the overnight session ahead of its second-quarter (Q2) earnings results expected on Thursday. 

Other Market Trends 

Among ETFs tracking benchmark indexes, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) edged marginally higher, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) traded lower at the time of writing. 

The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) was up 0.07% amid ‘neutral’ sentiment. 

Asian markets opened mixed on Wednesday. South Korea's KOSPI and Japan’s Nikkei 225 were trading in the green territory at the time of writing, while China’s SSE Composite was in the red. Australian stocks were also trading higher at the open. 

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.