08:52 AM EDT, 04/21/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were higher pre-bell on Tuesday as recent optimism on artificial intelligence and tech buoyed investor sentiment amid the uncertainty of a new round of negotiations between the US and Iran.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.5% higher, S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.3% higher.

JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) boosted its year-end target for the S&P 500 index to 7,600, pointing to AI and tech-driven earnings, while Amazon ( AMZN ) said it planned to invest $5 billion in Claude AI chatbot creator Anthropic, with up to another $20 billion potentially available in the future if certain commercial milestones are met.

President Donald Trump seems positive on the new round of peace talks happening, while Iran has said it will not negotiate "under the shadow of threat." The ceasefire between the two nations ends tomorrow.

Traders took note of the latest round of earnings, with GE Aerospace (GE) and UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) reporting higher Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Oil prices were slightly lower, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude down 0.2% at $95.20 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 0.7% lower at $88.95 per barrel.

March retail sales rose 1.7% following an upwardly adjusted 0.7% gain in the prior month, above estimates compiled by Bloomberg of a 1.4% increase.

The Senate Banking Committee hearing of Kevin Warsh for the Federal Reserve chair is scheduled at 10 am ET.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.9% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.5% higher, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.1% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.2%, and Germany's DAX index was 0.4% higher in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, Amazon ( AMZN ) stock was higher by 2.2% pre-bell. UnitedHealth ( UNH ) shares rose 7.4% after the company's Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue surpassed analysts' consensus. Danaher ( DHR ) stock was up by 0.5% after posting Q1 adjusted earnings that beat analysts' estimates.

On the losing side, Apple ( AAPL ) shares eased slightly by 0.7% after the company said Tim Cook plans to step down as chief executive and become executive chairman, with hardware engineering veteran John Ternus set to succeed him as CEO. 3M ( MMM ) stock was down by 3.7% despite the company's Q1 adjusted earnings and net sales surpassing analysts' consensus.