On Tuesday, Nasdaq Futures experienced an uptick, buoyed by a robust earnings report from UnitedHealth Group, while investors anticipated the Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing for Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Warsh. In recent trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq 100, and S&P 500 exhibited increases of 0.6%, 0.5%, and 0.4%, respectively. On the previous day, the principal U.S. stock indexes experienced a modest decline, while oil futures saw a significant increase due to heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Notably, the tech-oriented Nasdaq Composite concluded the day in negative territory for the first time in 14 sessions. Former Fed Governor Warsh, who was nominated by President Donald Trump to head the central bank, is set to appear before the Senate Banking Committee for a hearing at 10 am on Tuesday. Senators are expected to question Warsh on various issues, such as his strategies for transforming the central bank, his advocacy for reduced interest rates in the context of elevated inflation, and the autonomy of the Federal Reserve.

However, the inquiry may not alter the result: A prominent figure within the committee, North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis, has pledged to obstruct Warsh’s confirmation until the Justice Department ceases its criminal investigation into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Investors will be closely monitoring the 8:30 am release of March retail sales data, as forecasts suggest a month-over-month increase of 1.5%. Today, we anticipate the release of pending home sales figures for March alongside business inventories data for February. UnitedHealth stock jumped more than 7% in premarket trading following better-than-expected quarterly results and a lifted profit outlook. In other post-earnings movements, RTX gained 2.5%, Danaher rose 2%, GE Aerospace advanced nearly 2%, 3M pulled back 2%, and Northrop Grumman declined 1.5%.

Apple shares ticked lower after the iPhone maker announced after markets closed Monday that John Ternus, its senior vice president of hardware engineering, would succeed Tim Cook as CEO in September. Under Cook’s nearly 15-year leadership, Apple’s market capitalization has expanded from around $350 billion to over $4 trillion. Most of the other Magnificent Seven tech giants saw their shares rise prior to the market opening. Amazon led the group with a 3% rise after the e-commerce giant announced an expanded partnership with Anthropic, stating it would invest $5 billion in the maker of the AI platform Claude today and up to $20 billion more in the future. Amid investor anticipation for clarity regarding U.S.-Iran peace negotiations and potential disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, gas prices experienced a slight decline on Tuesday.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, experienced a decline of 0.6%, settling at approximately $89 per barrel, whereas Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, also fell by 0.6%, reaching $95. The U.S. dollar index, which monitors the value of the greenback relative to a selection of foreign currencies, registered an increase of 0.1%, reaching 98.21. The 10-year Treasury yield, a key determinant of interest rates on mortgages and various consumer loans, increased to 4.26% from the previous closing level of 4.25% on Monday. Bitcoin was trading around 76,600, reflecting a modest increase from the overnight lows of 75,500. Gold futures experienced a decline of 0.4%, settling at $4,810 per ounce.