Nasdaq, S&P 500, Dow Futures Edge Higher Even As Trump Keeps Iran Deal In Limbo: BBAI, SPCE, SOFI, IBM In Focus

• At the time of writing, Dow futures, S&P 500 futures, and Nasdaq 100 futures were all trading higher. 
• U.S. President Donald Trump left a White House meeting on Friday without signing off on the proposed Iran agreement.
• Oil futures jumped more than 2% higher in the overnight session after Israel ordered troops to push deeper into Lebanon, threatening a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.

U.S. stock futures ticked higher in the overnight session headed into Monday with investors eyeing a build on a blockbuster May that sent major indexes to fresh records. Meanwhile, little progress has been made on the Iran war, which enters its fourth month on Monday.

The Dow futures climbed 0.09%, the S&P 500 futures were 0.21% higher, and the Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.45% as of 8.56 p.m ET.  

Among ETFs tracking benchmark indexes, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) and SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) all traded in the green at the time of writing, with retail sentiment in the ‘bullish’ territory for SPY, in the ‘neutral’ territory for QQQ, and in the ‘bearish’ territory for DIA.

The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) was down about 0.59% amid ‘bullish’ sentiment.

How Did US Markets Fare Last Week?

On Friday, all three U.S. benchmark indexes closed higher, notching fresh 52-week highs on the last trading day of May.

The Dow Jones index added more than 350 points to close 0.72% higher. The S&P 500 closed up 0.22%, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.20% higher at the close.

US Market Drivers

U.S. stock markets clocked a record rally in May, with all three major indexes notching multiple records amid solid gains.

Technology shares largely fueled the uptick, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite posting the strongest performance by gaining more than 8% for the month. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 added about 5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nearly 3% for the month of May.

Major U.S. indexes closed at fresh highs on Friday amid reports of the U.S. and Iran reaching a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire between the two countries.

U.S. President Donald Trump left a White House meeting on Friday without signing off on the proposed Iran agreement. According to a report from Axios, he requested revisions to key provisions involving Iran’s nuclear materials.

Speaking earlier Saturday in an interview with his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, on Fox News, Trump said he is in “no hurry” to finalize an agreement with Iran, emphasizing that his administration’s priority is preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. While he said he would welcome a swift resolution, he stressed that he is unwilling to rush negotiations and warned that military action remains an option if talks fail.

“I’d like to say I’m in a hurry because gasoline prices are going to come tumbling down, but if you’re going to be in a hurry, you’re not going to make a good deal,” Trump said in the interview. “And slowly but surely we’re getting, I think, what we want, and if we don’t get what we want we’re going to end it a different way.”

“We’re going to make a great deal, [otherwise] we’ll just go back and finish it off militarily,” he said.

In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, the President clarified that the deal with Iran “very clearly” states “that Iran will not have a Nuclear Weapon.”

“It then goes on, in very strong and lengthy detail, to discuss various other aspects of Nuclear. In fact, that’s what most of the agreement is about,” he added.

“Trump clearly doesn’t want to escalate and is looking for an off-ramp. Some type of a pact is very likely, and markets largely assume a sustained cessation of hostilities,” Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, said as per CNBC. “An actual announcement will probably trigger a ‘sell the news’ reaction for the overall S&P 500.”

On the economic front, markets will be looking out for May’s nonfarm payrolls report, expected on Friday, that will provide fresh insight into the health of the labor market and provide cues on what to expect from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy in the upcoming months.

Trending Stocks To Watch

BigBear.ai Holdings Inc. (BBAI): The AI and analytics company jumped onto the retail radar after clocking the best weekly gains in about eight months. Shares of BBAI were trading more than 3% higher in the overnight session headed into Monday even as retail touted possibilities for fresh target hikes on Wall Street.

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (SPCE): The space tourism company’s shares surged more than 17% overnight, extending Friday’s gains after RichRich Capital disclosed a stake of more than 5% in the company, while reports that Blue Origin could be sidelined for years and growing excitement around the anticipated SpaceX IPO further fueled investor enthusiasm.

SoFi Technologies Inc. (SOFI): The digital financial services company gained more than 4% in the extended trading hours on Sunday, garnering retail attention as investors actively discussed the stock’s inclusion in the S&P 500 in the next quarterly rebalance expected later in June.

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM): The company’s stock gained nearly 10% overnight, fueled by a new $5 billion partnership commitment with Red Hat through ‘Project Lightwell’ and continued enthusiasm over the Trump administration’s $2 billion backing of American quantum computing companies.

Global Market Trends

Oil futures jumped higher in the overnight session after Israel ordered troops to push deeper into Lebanon, threatening a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. Brent crude futures expiring in July were up more than 2%, trading at around $93.05 a barrel at the time of writing, while WTI crude futures expiring in June were about 2.4% higher, trading around $89.48 a barrel.

Meanwhile, yields on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.469%, while gold prices fell to around $4,531.89 per ounce.

Asian markets were trading mixed on Monday. The KOSPI and the Nikkei 225 were trading higher at the time of writing. Meanwhile, the SSE Composite index and Australian stocks were trading lower at the open.

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