U.S. stock futures were mixed on Wednesday, April 15, ahead of the market open. At the time of writing, Dow futures rose 0.08%, S&P 500 futures edged up 0.03%, while Nasdaq futures dipped 0.05%.

In European trading, Germany's DAX index gained 0.11% and the UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.16%, whereas France's CAC 40 fell 0.53% and the Euro Stoxx 50 declined 0.46%.

Oil prices advanced, with WTI crude up 0.67% to $91.89 per barrel and Brent crude rising 0.87% to $95.61 per barrel. Reports suggest the U.S. and Iran have agreed in principle to extend a temporary ceasefire set to expire on April 22, aiming to secure more time for diplomatic negotiations. However, uncertainties remain due to U.S. port blockades against Iran and threats from Tehran. Key disagreements over Iran's nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz, and war reparations are still being negotiated. In a recent interview, former President Donald Trump warned the conflict could last until the midterm elections in November and threatened strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure, though he expressed hope it would not come to that.

A Bank of America survey revealed investor concerns over U.S. stock valuations have dropped to their lowest level since February 2019, even as the S&P 500 sits just 1% below its all-time high of 7,000 points reached on January 28. The shift suggests long-standing worries about overvaluation are easing amid geopolitical tensions and a higher-for-longer interest rate environment.

U.S. software stocks are staging a rebound after months of underperformance and historic valuation compression. Besides attractive valuations, improving profit expectations are drawing capital back into the sector. Wall Street analysts have quietly raised their 2027 profit growth forecast for software and services companies to 16.5%, up from 15.7% at the end of February. Revenue projections have followed a similar upward trend. Still, many investors remain cautious given challenges like slowing revenue growth and rapid AI advancements.

Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Goldman Sachs economists have reinforced the narrative that the Federal Reserve could still cut rates later this year. Yellen characterized recent oil price spikes as a “broad supply-side shock” rather than a resurgence of runaway inflation. While not ruling out further rate hikes entirely, she noted stable long-term inflation expectations make such an extreme scenario unlikely. Goldman Sachs continues to project two 25-basis-point rate cuts in September and December.

Hedge funds are increasing bearish bets on the U.S. dollar as prospects for a U.S.-Iran truce improve. The dollar’s earlier war-driven gains have nearly evaporated. A Morgan Stanley proprietary model shows investors have been adding to short dollar positions this month. The bank’s analysts noted, “The path for dollar weakness is widening, not narrowing,” adding that while a ceasefire may benefit risk-sensitive currencies near-term, dollar softness will likely be more pronounced against major peers like the euro, yen, and Swiss franc over the medium term.

**Individual Stock Moves** NVIDIA Corporation introduced the world’s first open-source AI model family for quantum computing, dubbed Ising, aiming to accelerate development in the field. Quantum computing-related stocks rose premarket: Quantum Computing gained over 4%, Infleqtion, Rigetti Computing, and IonQ Inc each advanced more than 5%, D-Wave Quantum jumped over 8%, and Hanadu Quantum Technology surged more than 11%.

Morgan Stanley reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with net revenue rising 16% year-over-year to $20.58 billion, beating estimates. Net income climbed 29% to $5.57 billion, while EPS came in at $3.43, above expectations. Net interest income and equity trading revenue also exceeded forecasts. Shares were up over 2% premarket.

Bank of America delivered strong Q1 results, with revenue increasing 7% to $30.3 billion and EPS up 25% to $1.10, both beating estimates. Net interest income grew 9% to $15.7 billion, driven by higher global markets activity and loan growth. The bank also disclosed roughly $20 billion in exposure to private credit, an area where Wall Street firms are seeking to reassure investors.

ASML Holding N.V. raised its 2026 sales outlook as AI-driven demand boosts equipment orders. Q1 net sales reached €8.77 billion, above expectations, with net profit at €2.8 billion. The company now expects 2026 net sales between €36 billion and €40 billion, up from prior guidance. Notably, memory chip customers accounted for 51% of new system sales in Q1, matching logic chip clients for the first time. However, Q2 sales guidance fell short of estimates.

Tesla, Inc. CEO Elon Musk announced the successful tape-out of the company’s AI5 chip, a key step toward mass production. Musk said the AI5 is expected to become one of the world’s highest-volume AI chips and thanked manufacturing partners Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Samsung Electronics. Additional chips, including AI6 and Dojo3, are in development. Mass production of AI5 is slated for 2027.

Meta Platforms, Inc. deepened its partnership with Broadcom Inc. in a multi-billion-dollar deal to co-design custom AI chips. The companies will jointly develop multiple generations of Meta's training and inference accelerators through 2029. The collaboration includes plans for chips delivering over one gigawatt of computing power, with potential for further expansion. Broadcom CEO Hock Tan will step down from Meta’s board after his term ends.

Pacific Investment Management Company invested $400 million in a private credit fund managed by Blue Owl Capital Inc., a significant vote of confidence for the sector, which has faced investor concerns over asset liquidity, transparency, and the impact of AI disruption.

**Upcoming Economic Data & Events** 20:30 Beijing Time: U.S. NY Fed Manufacturing Index for April 01:45 Next Day: Fed Governor Bowman Speaks at IIF Event 02:00 Next Day: Fed Releases Beige Book

**Earnings Preview (Thursday Premarket)** Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, PepsiCo, Inc., Abbott Laboratories, The Charles Schwab Corporation