07:10 AM EDT, 05/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were trending lower on Tuesday as traders weigh President Donald Trump's statements on Iran amid ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East.

The S&P 500 declined 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.2% and the Nasdaq fell 0.7% in premarket activity. The indexes finished the previous trading session mixed.

In a social media post on Monday, Trump said the US decided to postpone a planned military strike on Iran after leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates urged restraint amid "serious" ongoing negotiations to end the conflict.

Trump, however, cautioned that the US will "go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran" if a deal is not reached.

"I put it off for a little while, hopefully maybe forever, but possibly for a little while, because we've had very big discussions with Iran, and we'll see what they amount to," Trump reportedly said at a White House event on Monday, according to Bloomberg News.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil decreased 1.1% to $107.45 a barrel before the opening bell, while Brent dropped 1.7% to $110.22.

Trump's latest rhetoric follows reports that Iran had provided an updated proposal for a deal to end the war. The White House indicated it doesn't reflect a meaningful improvement from a previous offer, Axios reported Monday, citing a senior US official and a source briefed on the matter.

"Progress on US-Iran peace talks continues to be immaterial, with both parties expressing a willingness to resume overt hostilities if the talks fail," Tudor Pickering Holt Analyst Matt Portillo said in a Monday note.

Treasury yields were tracking lower in premarket action, with the two-year rate retreating 2 basis points to 4.07% and the 10-year rate off 1.8 basis points to 4.61%.

European Union officials are expected to convene on Tuesday to finalize legislation for the bloc's trade deal with the US, Bloomberg reported. Trump previously threatened to hike tariffs on the EU if it didn't implement its trade deal commitments by July 4.

Tuesday's economic calendar has the housing starts and permits report for April at 8:30 am ET, followed by the pending home sales index for the same month at 10 am.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller is scheduled to speak at 8 am, while Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson speaks at 7 pm. Atlanta interim President Cheryl Venable is slated to speak at 7:45 pm.

Home Depot ( HD ) shares increased nearly 1% after the home-improvement retailer reported fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings above market estimates and reiterated its full-year outlook. Keysight Technologies ( KEYS ) posts its earnings after the markets close.

Gold nudged 0.3% down to $4,543 per troy ounce, while bitcoin inched 0.1% higher to $76,794.