Preview of US Stock Market | Three major stock index futures fell together, gold fell below 4900, and the US and Iran started the second round of nuclear negotiations.

Pre-market Market Trends 1. On February 17th (Tuesday), the futures of the three major U.S. stock indexes fell before the market opened. As of the time of writing, Dow futures were down 0.01%, S&P 500 index futures were down 0.22%, and Nasdaq futures were down 0.73%. 2. As of the time of writing, the German DAX index rose 0.18%, the UK FTSE 100 index rose 0.60%, the French CAC 40 index rose 0.18%, and the European Stoxx 50 index rose 0.01%. 3. As of the time of writing, WTI crude oil rose 1.80% to $63.88 per barrel, and Brent crude oil rose 0.45% to $68.96 per barrel. Market News Iran and the U.S. held a second round of nuclear negotiations in Geneva. Iran and the U.S. held a second round of nuclear talks in Switzerland on Tuesday, seeking to avoid further conflicts in the Middle East. The talks, mediated by Oman, began around 10:30 AM local time. The previous round of talks held in the Omani capital Muscat lasted about seven hours, and both sides described the talks as "progressing smoothly." Iranian officials have indicated willingness to discuss their nuclear enrichment activities, but any concessions will be linked to the U.S. possibly easing sanctions. Meanwhile, Washington is increasing its military presence in the Middle East, deploying a second aircraft carrier to the region amid warnings of possible strikes against Iran if negotiations fail to reach a compromise. Trump signals negotiations "cooling" down risk aversion, causing gold prices to decline by 1%. Gold prices fell by 1% on Tuesday as geopolitical tensions eased, diminishing the attraction of safe-haven assets. U.S. President Trump recently confirmed on Air Force One that he would indirectly participate in the second round of U.S.-Iran nuclear agreement negotiations scheduled to be held in Geneva, Switzerland. Trump acknowledged Iran's tough stance as a negotiator and hinted at Tehran's unprecedented willingness for dialogue following targeted U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last year. This shift from full confrontation to diplomatic mediation has diminished the "war premium" that previously supported gold prices, with investors expecting further weakening of gold's safe-haven appeal if substantive progress is made in the Geneva talks. BofA survey: Market sentiment remains extremely bullish, upward movement of asset prices in the first quarter is challenging. Bank of America Corp's "Global Fund Manager Survey" shows that investor sentiment remains "extremely bullish," but as almost everyone has positioned themselves for an upward movement in the first quarter, further upward movement of asset prices in the first quarter will be more challenging. Led by Michael Hartnett, the strategist team pointed out that investors' overweight position in commodities has risen to the highest level since May 2022, reaching a net 28%; their overweight position in stocks has risen to the highest level since December 2024, at a net 48%; their underweight position in bonds is at the highest level since September 2022, at a net 40%; and cash levels have only slightly increased from the record low of 3.2% last month to 3.4%. Weak employment data reignites rate cut expectations, market prices in two rate cuts by the Bank of England within the year. After the UK unemployment rate rose to a nearly five-year high and wage growth slowed, traders increased their bets on further rate cuts by the Bank of England. Data released by the UK National Statistics Office on Tuesday showed that the unemployment rate rose to 5.2% in the fourth quarter of last year, exceeding analysts' median expectations. The preferred wage indicator of the Bank of Englandthe regular wage growth in the private sectorfell to 3.4%, the lowest level in over five years. The money market is now fully pricing in two 25-basis-point rate cuts by the end of the year, suggesting that the benchmark interest rate will drop to 3.25% for the first time in this easing cycle. Earlier this month, market expectations for this were only at 50%. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.: Hedge funds are buying into Asian markets at the fastest pace in a decade. As optimism in artificial intelligence infrastructure companies has risen in the market, hedge funds' net purchases of emerging and developed Asian markets reached their highest level since Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. began tracking relevant data in 2016. Exposure to Asian stocks has risen to the highest level since at least 2016. According to a report from Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., hedge funds switched to net buyers of global stocks last week for the first time in three weeks, with funds flowing into all major markets, but Asia showing the most prominent performance. Hedge funds are focusing their bullish trades on the markets in South Korea, China, with a "moderate sell-off" seen in India. Individual Stock News Medtronic Plc (MDT.US) reported an 8.7% year-over-year growth in Q3 revenue, but full-year guidance falls short of market expectations. Medtronic Plc reported a Q3 revenue of $9 billion, up 8.7% year-over-year, exceeding expectations by $1.1 billion; adjusted earnings per share were $1.36, surpassing expectations by $0.02. The company reiterated its organic revenue growth expectation of about 5.5% for FY2026, with adjusted earnings per share expected to be between $5.62 and $5.66, lower than the market's general expectation of $6.12. This guidance includes a potential tariff impact of approximately $185 million, as previously forecasted. Excluding the potential impact of tariffs, this guidance represents a growth of about 4.5% in adjusted earnings per share for FY2026. BHP Group Ltd Sponsored American Depositary Receipt Repr 2 Shs (BHP.US) Copper business profits surpass iron ore for the first time, with net profit surging 28% in the first half of the year. Benefiting from the surge in copper prices driven by the global electrification transition and record output in core mining areas, BHP Group Ltd Sponsored American Depositary Receipt Repr 2 Shs achieved strong financial growth in the quarter. During the reporting period, the company achieved a base profit of $6.2 billion, up 22% year-over-year, significantly higher than the previous market analysts' general expectation of $6.03 billion. At the same time, the company's revenue increased by 11% to $27.9 billion, while net profit attributable to the parent company surged 28% year-over-year to $5.64 billion. Based on robust cash flow performance, BHP Group Ltd Sponsored American Depositary Receipt Repr 2 Shs announced a mid-term dividend of 73 cents per share, nearly a fifty percent increase from 50 cents in the same period last year, maintaining a high dividend rate of 60%. Danaher Corporation (DHR.US) is close to acquiring medical technology company Masimo (MASI.US) for $10 billion. Danaher Corporation is nearing a deal to acquire U.S. medical technology company Masimo for approximately $10 billion, with the acquisition agreement for Masimo potentially being announced as early as Tuesday if negotiations progress smoothly. The deal represents a significant premium over Masimo's market value of nearly $7 billion as of last Friday's close. As a major manufacturer of pulse oximeters (devices used to measure blood oxygen levels), Masimo has had a long-running intellectual property dispute with Apple Inc., accusing Apple Inc.'s watch of infringing on its patents. This acquisition of Masimo will be Danaher Corporation's largest transaction in over five years since acquiring bioprocessing manufacturing company Cytiva (formerly part of GE Aerospace Medical Life Sciences Division) for $21.4 billion. General Mills, Inc. (GIS.US) lowers annual sales and profit forecasts. The company lowered its annual core net sales and profit forecasts on Tuesday due to weak consumer sentiment. The company expects full-year sales to decrease by 1.5% to 2%, compared to the previous range of a 1% decrease to a 1% increase. Adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share are currently expected to decrease by 16% to 20% on a fixed exchange rate basis, compared to the previous range of a 10% to 15% decrease.