Wall Street Aims To Open Moderately Up

(RTTNews) - The U.S. gasoline price topped $4 on Tuesday, reflecting a direct impact of conflict in the Middle East. The energy price have gone to the highest point, since 2022 as the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed.

Speculations are mounting over a targeted ground strike in Iran by the U.S. forces, while Iran has attacked a Kuwaiti-flagged oil tanker Al-Salmi. Reportedly the ship was carrying 2 million barrels of oil to China. No oil spillage or injuries to the crew reported.

Asian shares finished mostly down, while European shares are trading positive.

Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open positive.

As of 7.55 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 500.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were up 68.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were gaining 242.00 points.

Gold jumped nearly 1 percent toward $4,600 an ounce, brent crude prices for May delivery were little changed below $113 a barrel.

The U.S. major averages closed lower on Monday. The Nasdaq slid 153.72 points or 0.7 percent to 20,794.64 and the S&P 500 fell 25.13 points or 0.4 percent to 6,343.72, dropping to their lowest closing levels in nearly eight months.

On the economic front, the Case-Shiller Home Price Index for January will be released at 9.00 am ET. In the prior month, the 20-City adjusted Index was up 0.5 percent.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's House Price Index or HPI for January will be published at 9.00 am ET. In the prior month, the Index was up 0.1 percent.

The Institute For Supply Management - Chicago's purchasing managers' index or PMI for March will be released at 9.45 am ET. The consensus is 54.0, while it was up 57.7 in the prior month.

Consumer Confidence for March will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 88.5, while it was up 91.2 in the prior month.

The Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey or JOLTS for February is scheduled at 10.00 am ET. In January, the Job Openings were up 6.946 million.

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee will give opening remarks before the 'Human Capital in a Time of Low Real Rates' event hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago at 12.00 pm ET.

Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid will speak on monetary policy and the economic outlook at the Rotary Club of Oklahoma City at 1.10 pm ET.

Fed Governor Michael Barr will speak on 'Stablecoins' at The Federalist Society's The GENIUS Act in Practice: Key Questions for Stablecoin Regulation at 3.00 pm ET.

Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman will speak on 'Small Business' at CBA Live 2026 at 5.10 pm ET.

Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday. China's Shanghai Composite index fell 0.80 percent to 3,891.86. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished 0.15 percent higher at 24,788.14.

Japanese markets fell sharply. The Nikkei average ended 1.58 percent lower at 51,063.72. The broader Topix index closed 1.26 percent lower at 3,497.86.

Australian markets ended modestly higher. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 edged up by 0.25 percent to 8,481.80 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed up 0.30 percent at 8,683.90.