US equity futures pointed lower Wednesday morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures at 52,700 and the Nasdaq at 31,028, while the S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% to 7,836. The prior overnight indication from broker IG had placed the Dow 0.3% lower at 51,708 and the Nasdaq 100 at 30,656, suggesting some moderation in early selling pressure.
Oil prices halted their recent slide, with Brent and WTI posting gains after several weaker sessions, removing a near-term drag on risk sentiment. Investors were also weighing diplomatic signals ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York, where US and Iranian officials held talks for the first time in months. An Iranian MP said a direct meeting between President Donald Trump and Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian appeared likely. Separately, Trump was set to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping on a three-day state visit beginning Wednesday, with agenda items expected to cover trade and AI safety.
In pre-market trading, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) risked ending a six-day winning streak. Nvidia fell 0.5% ahead of the open. Among the Magnificent Seven, Microsoft gained 0.8% after Stifel initiated coverage with a Buy rating, raising the tone on sustained mid-to-upper-single-digit revenue growth. Quantum-computing stocks moved sharply: IonQ jumped 12% on a announcement of what it called the industry's first real-time quantum error-correction decoder running on a commercial standard processor, while AMS Osram surged 8.3% on positive analyst notes.
Worthington Enterprises rose 17% after first-quarter results and a tariff refund exceeded expectations. By contrast, DocMorris dropped 4.4% as a German court in Karlsruhe heard a case involving the online pharmacy's parent, dm-drogerie markt.
On the Swiss market, the SMI opened +0.1%, led by UBS (+1.0%), Logitech (+0.7%) and Holcim (+0.6%). Swiss Re added 1.0%, Nestlé 0.8% and Novartis 0.7%. The mid-cap SMIM lagged, falling 0.4% to 3,125.75, while the broad SPI edged 0.1% higher to 19,815.33. Morning gains were later erased as sellers took control; the SMI's intraday high of 14,031 sat just above the psychologically notable 14,000 level. UBS reversed to -0.2% in afternoon trading after the upper house of parliament approved stricter core-capital rules for systemically important banks, requiring foreign subsidiaries to be backed by 90% CET1. The Nationalrat now considers the measure.
Roche stagnated despite positive Phase III data for its experimental drug sefaxersen, after similar results had failed to lift the share the previous session. Swiss Life slipped 0.9%, while construction-name Sika (-0.9%) and Geberit (-0.6%) also weakened. EFG International gained 4.9% after a long-running dispute with Kuwait's Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) was settled; the bank described additional costs of CHF 5 million as negligible. Peach Property rose 2.2% on improved half-year results that curtailed losses and confirmed the outlook.
Analyst action included upgrades from ODDO BHF (ABB to 89 francs, Neutral), Bernstein (Sonova to 275 francs, Outperform; Straumann to 124 francs, Outperform). VAT advanced 1.9% on favorable commentary.
Looking ahead, US purchasing-manager indices are due Wednesday afternoon, with the Swiss National Bank's interest-rate decision on Thursday expected to anchor the week's trading.
