Wall Street Set to Open Higher as Trump Says US Will Consider Ceasefire if Hormuz Strait Opened

US stocks looked set to open higher in Wednesday's trading session after President Trump claimed that the Middle East conflict would be resolved in two to three weeks and that a ceasefire was possible if the Strait of Hormuz was reopened.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were rising 0.5%, S&P 500 futures were up 0.6%, and Nasdaq futures were moving 0.8% higher.

ADP's monthly measure of private payrolls showed a 62,000 increase in March, above expectations compiled by Bloomberg for an increase of 40,000. The March gain followed an upwardly revised 66,000 increase in February.

Meanwhile, monthly retail sales rose 0.6% in February, topping forecasts of a 0.5% increase, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, rebounding from a revised decline of 0.1% the previous month.

Investors are looking ahead the S&P Global manufacturing reading for March, which is set to be released at 9:45 am ET. The reading is expected to remain unchanged at 52.4, according to Bloomberg.

Oil prices were moving lower, with front-month global benchmarks Brent crude declining 1.5% to $102.52 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude was down 0.7% to $100.68 a barrel.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei soared 5.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 2%, and China's Shanghai Composite advanced 1.5%. Meanwhile in Europe's early afternoon session, the UK's FTSE 100 was up 1.7%, Germany's DAX surged 2.4%, and France's CAC was rising 1.8%.

In equities, Binah Capital Group (BCG) shares were soaring 55% in Wednesday's premarket activity after the company reported overnight a swing to Q4 net income and higher revenue.

Target Hospitality (TH) stock was surging 35% after the company issued higher-than-expected 2026 revenue guidance, and secured a multiyear lease and services agreement to support the development of a data center campus in North Texas.

PMGC (ELAB) stock was up 15% after the company's AGA Precision Systems unit said Tuesday that it signed an agreement with Turbo-Jet Products to provide aerospace and defense components to support Turbo-Jet's commercial and defense programs.

On the losing side, RH (RH) stock tumbled 22%, a day after the company posted lower fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings that also missed analysts' forecasts.

Nike (NKE) shares were 11% lower after the sports apparel maker reported overnight lower fiscal Q3 earnings.