Wall Street futures rose up to 1% on Tuesday afternoon, India time, as investors remained hopeful that the latest US strikes on Iran would not derail efforts to end the conflict in the West Asia region.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that negotiations with Iran to end the war were progressing “nicely”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that negotiating a deal with Iran could 'take a few days', dampening hopes for an imminent breakthrough a day after American forces conducted what Washington described as defensive strikes in southern Iran, even as diplomats on both sides remained at the table.
Speaking to reporters aboard his plane in Jaipur, Rubio was blunt about the stakes, saying the US will either reach a good agreement with Tehran or deal with the country 'another way'.
He added that Washington would give diplomacy every chance to succeed before exploring what he called the "alternatives," a thinly veiled warning that military options remain on the table.
At around 3 pm IST, futures linked to the Nasdaq-100 were up 0.89%. Futures of the S&P 500 gained 0.57%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.42%.
ALSO READ: Marco Rubio Says Iran Negotiations To Take Few Days Amid US Strikes, Trump's Uranium Warning
Investors largely brushed aside a rebound in crude oil prices following US strikes on Iranian ships and missile launch sites, along with a report by Iran's Tasnim news agency that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had fired at a US F-35 fighter jet and several drones.
The developments added uncertainty over the resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. However, investors remained optimistic that peace talks could continue.
US authorities described the strikes as defensive in nature after Trump said on Monday that talks were “proceeding nicely”.
Europe's benchmark STOXX 600 index slipped 0.2% after gaining 1 percent on Monday.
In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was trading flat at 25,599.45, while China's Shanghai Composite index declined 0.7% to 4,122.87.
South Korea's Kospi advanced 2.9% to 8,075.71 after markets reopened following a holiday on Monday.
Back home, the Sensex fell 478.63 points or 0.63% to 76,010.33, while the Nifty declined 117.90 points or 0.49% to 23,913.80.
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