News Bulletin
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Morning Edition

Economic Numbers:

Time	Event	Actual	Forecast	Previous
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
8:30	Current Account (Q4)		-211.0B	-226.4B
8:30	Import Price Index (MoM) (Feb)		0.60%	0.20%
8:30	Export Price Index (MoM) (Feb)		0.50%	0.60%
10:30	Crude Oil Inventories		-1.300M	6.156M
10:30	Cushing Crude Oil Inventories			0.944M
19:20	U.S. President Trump Speaks

Indices

	CLOSE	50 DMA	200 DMA
DJIA	46,124.06	48,615.61	46,601.15
NASDAQ	21,761.89	22,893.58	22,273.81
S&P 500	6,556.37	6,842.92	6,627.91

Earnings Calendar:

(EPS: Earning Per Share / Rev: Revenue / Mkt Cap: market Capital/ BMO: Before Market Opening /AMC: After Market Close)

COMPANY	EPS Act	EPS Fore	Rev Act	Rev Fore	Mkt Cap	Time
PDD Holdings PDD:US		20.52		124.5B	$130.32B	PM
Cintas CTAS:US		1.23		2.82B	$71.81B	PM
Paychex PAYX:US		1.67		1.78B	$32.62B	PM
Enerpac Tool Group ATU:US		0.4		149.5M	$2.05B	PM
Millerknoll MLHR:US		0.45		941.95M	$1.39B	PM
Winnebago Industries WGO:US		0.25		628.37M	$1.03B	PM

Market News:

Futures linked to the major U.S. indices tick higher, while oil prices ease back below $100 a barrel, gold ticks higher and the U.S. dollar weakens slightly, amid renewed hopes for a resolution in the Iran war. The U.S. has reportedly presented a 15-point plan to halt hostilities, although Tehran is said to have set a high bar for bringing an end to the conflict.

1. Futures rise

U.S. stock futures ticked higher on Wednesday, fueled by hopes that the U.S. and Iran could be nearing a resolution to end an almost month-long war that has threatened to engulf much of the Middle East.

By 04:14 ET (08:14 GMT), the Dow futures contract had gained 495 points, or 1.1%, S&P 500 futures had risen 68 points, or 1.0%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had advanced by 284 points, or 1.2%.

The main averages on Wall Street all slipped in the prior session, with investors attempting to gauge the likelihood of a halt to hostilities between joint U.S.-Israeli forces and Iran. Fighting has continued unabated, while the U.S. has begun to send more military units to the Middle East and some Washington allies in the Persian Gulf have reportedly been urging President Donald Trump to keep prosecuting the war.

Tehran has rejected Trump’s claims of "very strong" recent negotiations between the two sides, accusing the president of using the prospect of peace talks to soothe volatile financial markets.

Traders have been fretting over the possible economic fallout from a prolonged war, a sentiment underlined by preliminary U.S. business activity data for March. S&P Global’s flash purchasing managers index fell to an eleven-month low and pointed to growing pressure on overall growth from rising prices linked to a war-related energy shock.

The impact may not be centralized in the U.S., either. Separate PMIs for the Eurozone warned of "ringing stagflation alarm bells," referring to an economic trend of stubborn inflation and stagnating growth.

2. Oil slides below $100 a barrel amid Iran resolution hopes

Still, optimism around a potential resolution to the war appeared to be in vogue early on Wednesday.

Driving these hopes were media reports that mediators from Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan are attempting to arrange talks between officials from the U.S. and Iran by Thursday.

With Trump reportedly keen to find an off-ramp from the war, the U.S. is also said to have presented Tehran with a 15-point peace plan. Along with demands for Iran to dismantle its main nuclear sites, the U.S. is calling for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway south of Iran that has been effectively closed to tanker traffic for weeks, driving up energy prices and threatening to ignite inflationary pressures in countries around the globe.

Reports said Iran has set a high bar for negotiations, including the establishment of fee collection from ships traversing the strait. An Iranian military spokesperson appeared to cold water on a possible immediate resolution as well, saying the U.S. is only “negotiating with” itself.

Despite the muddled messaging, a hallmark of the conflict, Brent crude futures fell. By 04:31 ET, futures expiring in May for Brent, the global oil benchmark, had retreated by 6.5% to $97.68 a barrel. Although the contract has declined back below the key $100 a barrel threshold, it remains well above levels of roughly $70-per-barrel before the outbreak of the war in late February.

3. Gold edges higher

Gold prices were higher in European trading, supported by the drop in oil prices and a slightly weaker U.S. dollar, but gains were capped by still-elevated Middle East tensions.

Spot gold was last up 2.0% at $4,564.34 an ounce by 05:03 ET. U.S. gold futures jumped 3.7% to $4,597.42 an ounce.

Lower energy costs can dampen bond yields and weaken the dollar, both of which tend to benefit non-yielding assets such as gold.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump said Washington was “in negotiations right now” with Iran, adding that Tehran was “talking sense” and appeared eager to strike a deal to end hostilities.

But the war has carried on, with fresh attacks hitting U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf. The president’s apparent willingness to negotiate has reportedly alarmed some Gulf countries, and driven Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to urge Trump to continue the war until Iran’s regional influence is weakened.

4. Currencies take a breather

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index, a tracker of the greenback against a basket of currency peers, dipped by 0.2% to 99.21.

Globally, recent volatility in currencies took a pause, as Trump’s characterization of progressing talks with Iran supported an uptick in equities in Europe and Asia and sparked the decline in oil prices.

Still, markets have continued to bounce around on each new headline around Iran, analysts at ING said in a note to clients.

"It seems dangerous to position for an early resolution of the crisis, with the Iranians likely to want to take high energy prices as leverage in any negotiations," the analysts wrote, adding that upcoming speeches from central bankers in Europe are "very likely to sound hawkish."

A strategist cited by Reuters, meanwhile, suggested that an element of "fatigue" is starting to set in among investors attempting to track rapid developments out of Iran.

5. Chewy earnings ahead

Chewy Inc is set to report quarterly results, with investors bracing for signals on whether the online pet retailer can steady sentiment after a prolonged share price pullback.

The stock has shed more than 29% of its value over the past one-year period.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley said the company is expected to post fourth-quarter revenue of about $3.27 billion, broadly in line with consensus, alongside earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization of roughly $171 million, slightly above market expectations.

They see the print as a “set-up” for fiscal 2026, forecasting initial guidance of around 7% to 7.5% revenue growth and 90 to 100 basis points of EBITDA margin expansion.

For internal use only