U.S. stock futures were pointing higher on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Dow Jones all in the green, following a mixed close on Monday. The catalyst? A potential de-escalation in the Middle East and some encouraging words from the king of AI chips.

President Donald Trump posted early Monday that "both sides, Israel and Iran, are looking to do an immediate ceasefire," shortly before Iran's armed forces said they had ended military operations against Israel, while warning of "harsher attacks" if strikes on Lebanon resume. Markets, ever the optimists, took the ceasefire talk as a positive sign.

The Nasdaq rebounded on Monday, driven by encouraging remarks from tech leaders, including Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang, who indicated that the recent market pullback offers a prime entry point for artificial intelligence (AI) investments. When the man selling the picks and shovels for the AI gold rush says it's a good time to buy, people listen.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.55%, and the two-year bond was at 4.15%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool's projections show markets pricing a 98.2% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged during June's meeting. So, no rate cuts anytime soon, but that's not news.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were higher in premarket on Tuesday. The SPY was up 0.45% at $742.54, while the QQQ advanced by 0.78% to $721.66.

Stocks In Focus

Vail Resorts

• Vail Resorts Inc. (MTN) dropped 4.53% in premarket on Tuesday after posting worse-than-expected third-quarter results after Monday's closing bell. The ski resort operator's earnings didn't exactly make investors want to hit the slopes.

• Market data indicates that MTN maintains a weak price trend in the long term but a strong trend in the medium and short terms, with a poor growth ranking.

Mission Produce

• Mission Produce Inc. (AVO) declined by 5.43% after reporting downbeat second-quarter results after Monday's closing bell. The avocado giant also announced a $100 million buyback plan, which apparently wasn't enough to guacamole investors' spirits.

• Market data indicates that AVO maintains a weak price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a poor quality score.

Amplitech Group

• Amplitech Group Inc. (AMPG) surged 12.63% after announcing a key update from the O-RAN ALLIANCE Global PlugFest Spring 2026. The company distinguished itself as the sole vendor showcasing a massive MIMO radio equipped with 64 transmit and 64 receive antennas. That's a lot of antennas, and apparently, investors liked it.

• Market data indicates that AMPG maintains a strong price trend in the long, short, and medium terms.

Nebius Group

• Nebius Group NV (NBIS) rose 4.59% as it launched a physical AI living lab for UK and European robotics startups built with Nvidia technologies. It's like a playground for robots, and the market gave it a thumbs up.

• Market data indicates that NBIS maintains a strong price trend in the long, medium, and short terms, with a poor value score.

Casey's General Stores

• Casey's General Stores Inc. (CASY) was 0.057% lower as Wall Street expects it to post quarterly earnings of $3.30 per share on revenue of $4.30 billion after the closing bell. Not much movement, but all eyes are on the numbers.

• Market data indicates that CASY maintains a strong price trend in the long and medium terms but a weak trend in the short term, with a moderate value score.

Cues From Last Session

Sectors on the S&P 500 that closed higher on Monday included only information technology, energy, and consumer discretionary. Consumer staples, utilities, real estate, health care, financials, materials, communication services, and industrials fell. So, it was a tech and energy party, and everyone else was left out.

Insights From Analysts

LPL Financial expects the U.S. economy to maintain its current momentum, noting that "incoming data has generally surprised to the upside."

This resilient data supports a "broader narrative of resilience" or a "soft landing plus" scenario, driven largely by rising near-term real growth expectations. This strength is heavily underpinned by "ongoing investment in the artificial intelligence buildout."

Regarding the stock market, LPL Financial's Strategic and Tactical Asset Allocation Committee (STAAC) expects "further easing of geopolitical and commodity supply concerns" stemming from the U.S.-Iran conflict.

Consequently, the firm maintains a positive outlook for equities over fixed income, recommending a "tactical equity overweight and fixed income underweight."

To navigate the changing rate environment safely, they advise expressing this tactical equity exposure "via a defensive factor tilt."

Ultimately, while bond yields face a transition, LPL Financial anticipates that the combination of robust productivity gains and underlying economic resilience will continue to provide a supportive backdrop for corporate earnings and the broader equity market.

Upcoming Economic Data

Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on Tuesday.

• May's NFIB optimism index data will be released by 6:00 a.m., and April's U.S. trade balance data will be out by 8:30 a.m. ET.
• May's existing home sales report and April's wholesale inventories data will both be out by 10:00 a.m. ET.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 2.41% to hover around $89.10 per barrel. The ceasefire talk likely helped ease some supply fears.

Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.10% to hover around $4,334.45 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.12% lower at the 99.9250 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading 0.33% lower at $99.9250 per coin, as per the last 24 hours. So, crypto is taking a breather.

Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday, as Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Australia's ASX 200 indices declined, while India's Nifty 50, Japan's Nikkei 225, South Korea's Kospi, and China's CSI 300 indices rose. European markets were also mixed in early trade. So, a global mixed bag, but futures suggest a positive open in the U.S.