08:58 AM EDT, 06/09/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were higher pre-bell Tuesday as oil prices receded on optimism that a US-Iran peace agreement could happen soon.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.3% higher, S&P 500 futures were up 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.8% higher.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped to below $90 a barrel as President Donald Trump said in a CNBC report that a deal to end the Middle East war could be reached in "two to three days," with the Strait of Hormuz reopening "immediately" after the agreement is signed. The two countries are nearing a deal "that will not in any way allow nuclear weapons," Trump said, according to the report.

Front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude was down 1.5% to $92.85 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 2.1% lower at $89.39 per barrel.

The US international trade deficit narrowed to $55.88 billion in April from the downwardly revised $56.59 billion gap in March, compared with a $56.1 billion gap expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

The existing home sales report, scheduled for release at 10 am ET, is expected to show an increase of 1.1% for May after a gain of 0.2% in the prior month.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 2.2% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.4% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 1.3% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.3%, and Germany's DAX index was 0.5% higher in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, Meta Platforms ( META ) stock was up 1% after a Reuters report that a probe on the use of AI tools on its messaging service WhatsApp was stopped by Italy's competition authority due to jurisdictional overlap with European Union regulators. Broadcom ( AVGO ) and Micron Technology ( MU ) shares rose 1.2% and 4.5%, respectively, as part of a broader rally in the tech sector. J.M. Smucker ( SJM ) was up 4.7% after the company posted higher fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings and net sales.

On the losing side, SailPoint ( SAIL ) shares fell more than 12% despite posting higher fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue. Sony ( SONY ) stock was down 2.6% after Nikkei Asia reported that the company will release a new flagship version of its Xperia smartphone with AI-enabled camera functions on Thursday.