U.S. stock futures edged up Wednesday as oil fell after Trump said U.S. and Iranian officials met at this week’s U.N. General Assembly. S&P 500 and Dow futures gained 0.1%, while Nasdaq futures were flat; Brent fell 0.3% to $98.99 and U.S. crude 1.1% to $89.84 a barrel.
On Tuesday, Trump told the U.N. General Assembly he had a “big decision” if the sides failed to reach an agreement, including whether to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic; he also described a possible deal as allowing Iran to rebuild. ING commodities strategists Ewa Manthey and Warren Patterson said reports that Saudi Arabia was working to restore its east-west pipeline, disabled in an attack, were also weighing on oil.
The pipeline is key to moving some Middle Eastern crude to the Red Sea instead of through the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passed before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February. Brent remained above roughly $72 a barrel before the war in late February and about $30 above its level a year earlier. Investors were also watching Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington, which began Wednesday, and his meeting with Trump this week; AI was expected to rank high on the agenda amid U.S.-China competition over technology and trade.