U.S. Expands Iran Sanctions as Bitcoin Breaks $80,000 and Markets Await Nvidia: Dow Jones, S&P, Nasdaq, Wall Street Futures

U.S. stock futures moved higher on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) earnings and key inflation data later in the week, while markets assessed Washington’s expanded sanctions campaign against Iran. Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD), meanwhile, extended its rally above $80,000. Oil prices moved lower following the White House’s announcement of measures aimed at further isolating Iran from the global financial system, while Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) is among the major companies scheduled to report earnings after the U.S. market close. U.S. Stock Futures Rise Ahead of Nvidia Earnings Wall Street futures pointed to a positive opening. By 03:08 ET (07:08 GMT), Dow futures were up 89 points, or 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures gained 20 points, or 0.3%. Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 165 points, or 0.6%. The gains followed a weaker session for the major U.S. indices, when selling pressure across AI-related companies, including semiconductor manufacturers and chip equipment suppliers, outweighed gains in financial and consumer staples stocks. Investors are now turning their attention towards Nvidia’s upcoming quarterly report, which is expected to provide another important indication of demand across the artificial intelligence industry. Inflation data due later in the week will also be closely scrutinised for clues about the outlook for monetary policy. Trade tensions between the United States and Canada have added another source of uncertainty. Negotiations failed to produce an agreement capable of preventing proposed U.S. tariffs of 50% on a broad range of Canadian goods, prompting Ottawa to threaten equivalent retaliatory duties. Analysts at Vital Knowledge noted that the measures are not expected to take effect for several weeks, leaving additional time for negotiations. Proposed U.S. tariffs covering Canadian automotive, truck and steel exports have also been postponed until January 2027. White House Expands Economic Pressure on Iran Geopolitical developments remained another major focus after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled a new package of economic measures against Iran on Monday. Bessent described the initiative as an “economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections” around the world, designed to disrupt Tehran’s “enablers” and further isolate the country financially. He said President Donald Trump is asking other countries to make “specific requests to cease their interactions” with Iran as Washington increases economic pressure following the outbreak of the conflict in late February. Story Continues Although the new sanctions have yet to take effect, the White House has established a timetable for countries to wind down activities involving Iran. Bessent warned that “any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran” would be excluded from the U.S. dollar system, adding that “the clock has just started ticking.” Brent Oil Falls as Traders Play Down Immediate Supply Risks Oil markets reacted relatively calmly to the announcement. Brent crude futures fell 0.6% to $91.58 a barrel on Tuesday after both Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate settled more than 2% lower in the previous session. WTI was trading around a one-week low, with profit-taking following a multi-week rally also contributing to the decline. “Oil prices drifted lower yesterday despite renewed U.S. plans to tighten economic pressure on Iran,” ING analysts said in a note to clients. “[T]raders [are] treating the U.S. effort to nudge partners away from Iranian trade as marginal rather than market-moving.” ING also highlighted uncertainty over whether Washington would be willing to jeopardise its fragile trade truce with China, the largest buyer of Iranian energy, by pursuing aggressive secondary sanctions. Intuit Earnings in Focus After Workforce Cuts Corporate earnings will also attract attention, with Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) scheduled to report after Tuesday’s closing bell. The software company lowered its annual revenue outlook for its TurboTax tax preparation business in May and announced plans to reduce its workforce by 17%. The restructuring is expected to eliminate approximately 3,000 positions and was interpreted as an effort to streamline the business while increasing Intuit’s focus on its own artificial intelligence products. The earlier announcements had pressured the company’s shares and intensified concerns about competition from emerging AI systems. General-purpose large language models can perform some functions similar to those offered by TurboTax, despite lacking access to proprietary financial information, raising questions about the longer-term competitive position of the tax software business. Bitcoin Climbs Above $80,000 Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) extended its recent surge to its highest level in more than three months, supported by strong inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and continued investor appetite for risk. The cryptocurrency gained 4.0% to $80,415.7 by 03:48 ET after briefly reaching $81,220.4. Bitcoin is now on course to post gains in eight of the past nine trading sessions. Short-covering has added momentum to the move after the rebound forced the liquidation of a substantial number of bearish positions. Concerns surrounding U.S. government finances have also contributed to the rally. Investor anxiety increased after the Treasury announced plans last week to roughly double the pace of its bond buybacks in an effort to contain the recent rise in government borrowing costs. Nvidia stock price Intuit stock price Bitcoin price View Comments