Wall Street Futures Rise as Iran Sanctions, Nvidia Earnings and Bitcoin Rally Take Focus: Dow Jones, S&P, Nasdaq

U.S. stock futures advanced on Tuesday as investors prepared for a busy stretch of corporate and economic news, with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) earnings and upcoming inflation figures among the main events in focus. Meanwhile, Washington unveiled a broader economic campaign against Iran and Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) extended its rally beyond $80,000.

Oil prices moved lower as traders assessed the likely impact of the new Iran measures on global supplies, while Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) is scheduled to release its latest results after the closing bell.

Nvidia Earnings Loom as U.S. Futures Advance

Wall Street was positioned for a firmer start, with Dow futures gaining 89 points, or 0.2%, by 03:08 ET (07:08 GMT). S&P 500 futures rose 20 points, or 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 165 points, or 0.6%.

The move followed losses for the major U.S. averages in the previous session. Weakness among companies exposed to the artificial intelligence theme, including semiconductor manufacturers and chip equipment businesses, outweighed gains in financials and consumer staples.

Nvidia’s upcoming quarterly results are now set to take centre stage, given the chipmaker’s importance as a gauge of investment and demand across the AI industry. Investors are also awaiting inflation figures later this week for further indications of the direction of U.S. monetary policy.

Trade relations between Washington and Ottawa have provided another source of uncertainty. Efforts to prevent proposed 50% U.S. tariffs on a wide range of Canadian products failed to produce an agreement, prompting Canada to threaten matching retaliatory measures.

Vital Knowledge analysts noted that the tariffs are still several weeks away from taking effect, leaving room for further negotiations. Planned U.S. duties on Canadian automotive, truck and steel exports have meanwhile been delayed until January 2027.

Washington Steps Up Economic Campaign Against Iran

Iran remained a major geopolitical focus after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a fresh sanctions initiative on Monday designed to increase Tehran’s financial isolation.

Bessent described the strategy as an “economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections” globally, saying it would target Tehran’s “enablers” and make it harder for the country to maintain access to international financial channels.

President Donald Trump is also asking other governments to make “specific requests to cease their interactions” with Iran as Washington intensifies its economic campaign following the start of the conflict in late February.

The measures have not yet been implemented, but countries have been given a timetable to wind down activities involving Iran.

Bessent warned that “any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran” would lose access to the U.S. dollar system, adding that “the clock has just started ticking.”

Oil Prices Slip as Markets Assess Sanctions Impact

Oil traders appeared relatively unfazed by the latest measures, with Brent crude futures falling 0.6% to $91.58 a barrel on Tuesday.

Both Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude had declined by more than 2% in the previous session. WTI subsequently moved towards a one-week low, with profit-taking following its recent multi-week rally adding to the pressure.

“Oil prices drifted lower yesterday despite renewed U.S. plans to tighten economic pressure on Iran,” ING analysts said.

“[T]raders [are] treating the U.S. effort to nudge partners away from Iranian trade as marginal rather than market-moving.”

A key question is how aggressively Washington will pursue secondary sanctions against countries continuing to buy Iranian energy. ING noted that China is the largest purchaser of Iranian energy, raising doubts over whether the U.S. would risk destabilising its fragile trade truce with Beijing.

Intuit Results Put AI Competition in Spotlight

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) will be another focus for investors when the software company reports after Tuesday’s market close.

In May, Intuit reduced its annual revenue forecast for TurboTax and announced plans to shrink its workforce by 17%, equivalent to roughly 3,000 positions.

The measures were viewed as an attempt to streamline the company and redirect resources towards its own artificial intelligence products. However, they also raised concerns about the competitive threat posed by increasingly capable general-purpose AI systems.

Large language models can already replicate some functions traditionally provided by tax preparation software, despite not having access to Intuit’s proprietary financial data, potentially increasing competitive pressure on TurboTax over time.

Bitcoin Extends Rally Beyond $80,000

Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) continued its sharp advance on Tuesday, reaching its highest level in more than three months amid strong demand for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and continued risk appetite.

The cryptocurrency rose 4.0% to $80,415.7 by 03:48 ET, having earlier touched $81,220.4.

Bitcoin is on course to record gains in eight of the past nine sessions, with short-covering providing additional momentum as the rally forces bearish traders to close positions.

Concerns over U.S. public finances have also helped drive interest in the cryptocurrency. Those worries intensified after the Treasury announced plans last week to roughly double the pace of bond buybacks as part of efforts to contain rising government borrowing costs.

This article was written by the editorial team at InvestorsHub/ADVFN and is provided for informational purposes only. In some cases, editorial staff may use artificial intelligence–based tools to assist in the research, drafting, or editing of content, under human review and oversight. This article does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any securities. The views expressed are based on publicly available information believed to be reliable at the time of publication, but accuracy or completeness is not guaranteed. Readers should conduct their own independent research and consult a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.