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Futures down: Dow 0.48%, S&P 500 0.45%, Nasdaq 0.5%
Solar stocks down as Senate proposes to phase out tax credits
Eli Lilly to acquire Verve Therapeutics for up to $1.3 bln
Updates before markets open
By Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta
June 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were on track for a lower open on Tuesday as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its fifth day, denting global investor confidence ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming monetary policy decision.
Iran and Israel's air war, which began on Friday when Israel attacked Iran's nuclear facilities, has raised concerns that the conflict could create bottlenecks for oil exports from the oil-rich Middle East.
"(Wall Street believes) that the situation is going to be contained. The market is definitely paying attention to it, but right now there's no panic in the market over it," said Larry Tentarelli, chief technical strategist at Blue Chip Daily Trend Report.
U.S. energy stocks rose in premarket trading as oil prices remained elevated on the uncertainty. Chevron CVX.N and Exxon XOM.N edged up 0.7% each, while Occidental Petroleum OXY.N advanced 0.8%, and Devon Energy DVN.N gained 1.2%.
The surge in oil prices comes ahead of the Fed's monetary policy decision on Wednesday, when policymakers are widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged.
Money market moves show traders are pricing in about 48 basis points of rate cuts by the end of 2025, with a 59% chance of a 25-bps rate cut in September, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
At 8:49 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were down 204 points, or 0.48%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were down 27.25 points, or 0.45%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were down 108.25 points, or 0.5%.
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. retail sales dropped more than expected in May. Retail sales fell 0.9% last month, while economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.7% decline.
U.S. Senate Republicans late on Monday unveiled proposed changes to President Donald Trump's sweeping tax-cut bill that had cleared the House of Representatives in May.
Solar stocks dipped after the Senate's changes to Trump's tax-cut bill revealed a phase-out of solar, wind and energy tax credits by 2028.
Shares of Enphase Energy ENPH.O, which makes solar inverters, dropped 21%. Solar panel sellers Sunrun RUN.O fell 36% and SolarEdge Technologies SEDG.O dropped 31.3%. First Solar FSLR.O lost nearly 17.6%.
Shares of nuclear power companies rose after the Senate extended credits for nuclear energy to 2036. Oklo OKLO.N was up 5.2% and Nano Nuclear Energy NNE.O rose 4.3%.
As investors flock to traditional safe-haven assets amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty, a rise in U.S. Treasuries pushed yields lower across the curve. Yields on the benchmark 10-year US10YT=RR fell about 5 basis points to 4.40%.
Among other movers, Eli Lilly LLY.N edged down 0.4% after it agreed to acquire Verve Therapeutics VERV.O for up to $1.3 billion. Shares of Verve surged over 75%.
T-Mobile TMUS.O fell 4.3% after Japan's SoftBank 9984.T raised $4.8 billion from a sale of 21.5 million of the wireless carrier's shares at $224 each, according to a term sheet reviewed by Reuters.
(Reporting by Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
((Kanchana.Chakravarty@thomsonreuters.com;))
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