U.S. equity futures traded in a narrow range on Friday as investors monitored reports suggesting progress in negotiations aimed at extending the ceasefire between the United States and Iran. At the same time, attention remained focused on a series of potentially record-breaking public offerings expected later this year, including those involving artificial intelligence and space technology companies.
Futures remain rangebound
By 03:42 ET, futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were little changed, while Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.1%.
Wall Street ended Thursday modestly higher after investors responded positively to a combination of corporate earnings results, softer-than-expected inflation data and growing optimism that diplomatic efforts could lead to a more durable agreement between Washington and Tehran.
“We still think an Iran deal is widely expected and so the reaction in the SPX when one arrives shouldn’t be dramatic at this point, although oil and yields have room to fall, and could have a more pronounced response to an accord,” analysts at Vital Knowledge said in a note.
Reports point to U.S.-Iran ceasefire extension
According to media reports citing sources familiar with the discussions, the United States and Iran have reached a preliminary agreement to extend their ceasefire, although final approval from President Donald Trump is still required.
Reuters reported that the proposed arrangement would extend the truce by an additional 60 days. It would also allow commercial shipping to resume through the Strait of Hormuz while negotiators work toward a broader settlement that includes discussions over Iran’s nuclear programme.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a critical issue in the conflict. Approximately one-fifth of global oil supplies pass through the waterway, and restrictions imposed by both sides during the conflict have disrupted shipping activity, tightened energy supplies and contributed to sharp increases in crude prices.
Oil heads for largest weekly decline since April
Oil markets continued to reflect optimism surrounding a possible diplomatic breakthrough.
Brent crude futures were broadly unchanged at $93.87 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures eased 0.2% to $88.72 per barrel.
Despite remaining well above levels seen before the conflict began, oil prices are now on track for their steepest weekly decline since early April. Earlier in the crisis, crude briefly traded above $100 per barrel, raising concerns that higher energy costs could reignite inflationary pressures across major economies.
Recent U.S. inflation data showed price growth slowing more than expected in April. However, signs emerged that consumers are beginning to feel the impact of elevated fuel and energy costs, with household spending showing evidence of moderation.
“[T]he Fed is unlikely to cut rates again anytime soon and will likely retain a hawkish bias over the summer months, until policymakers are confident that the energy surge has passed and will start to reverse,” analysts at ING said in a note. “But that requires a deal to re-open the Strait of Hormuz.”
Anthropic approaches trillion-dollar valuation
Away from geopolitical developments, investors are increasingly focused on a wave of major technology listings expected to reach public markets in the coming months.
Artificial intelligence company Anthropic attracted significant attention after announcing a $65 billion Series H funding round, valuing the business at $965 billion on a post-money basis.
The financing was backed by a consortium of investors including Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks and Sequoia Capital, with Capital Group, Coatue, D1 Capital Partners, GIC, ICONIQ and XN also participating.
Anthropic chief financial officer Krishna Rao said the company’s annualised revenue run rate exceeded $47 billion earlier this month, supported by growing adoption among enterprise customers since the completion of its Series G funding round in February.
The company said the new capital will be used to expand computing infrastructure, support safety and interpretability research and accelerate the development of its Claude family of artificial intelligence models.
Anthropic has recently secured substantial additional computing resources through agreements with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX).
Claude is currently available through Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, with AWS continuing to serve as Anthropic’s primary cloud and training partner.
SpaceX reportedly trims valuation target ahead of IPO
Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reported that SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) is targeting a valuation of at least $1.8 trillion in its forthcoming initial public offering.
Although below earlier internal estimates exceeding $2 trillion, the proposed valuation would still position the offering as the largest IPO ever completed if achieved.
According to the report, the company is seeking to raise as much as $75 billion. Investor roadshows could begin as early as 4 June, with pricing potentially taking place around 11 June.
Bloomberg noted that valuation expectations were revised lower following discussions with advisers and prospective investors, although the final size and pricing of the transaction will ultimately depend on market demand during the offering process.
As investors balance geopolitical developments with a potentially transformative period for capital markets, both the progress of Iran negotiations and the scale of upcoming technology listings are expected to remain key drivers of sentiment in the weeks ahead.
SpaceX IPO