(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window)
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Futures down: Dow 0.52%, S&P 500 0.51%, Nasdaq 0.55%
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May retail sales data due at 8:30 a.m. ET
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Eli Lilly ( LLY ) to acquire Verve Therapeutics ( VERV ) for up to $1.3 bln
(Updates with prices)
By Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta
June 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures slipped on
Tuesday as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its fifth day,
dampening global investor confidence ahead of the Federal
Reserve's upcoming monetary policy decision.
Iran and Israel's air war, which began on Friday when Israel
attacked Iran's nuclear facilities, has raised concerns that the
conflict could create bottlenecks for oil exports from the
oil-rich Middle East.
U.S. energy stocks rose in premarket trading as oil prices
remained elevated on the uncertainty. Chevron ( CVX ) and Exxon
edged up 0.7% each, while Occidental Petroleum ( OXY )
advanced 1%, and Devon Energy ( DVN ) gained 1.4%.
The surge in oil prices comes ahead of the Fed's monetary
policy decision on Wednesday, when policymakers are widely
expected to keep interest rates unchanged.
Money market moves show traders are pricing in about 49
basis points of rate cuts by the end of 2025, with a 59% chance
of a 25-bps rate cut in September, according to CME Group's
FedWatch tool.
At 7:04 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 221 points,
or 0.52%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 30.75 points, or
0.51%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 120 points, or
0.55%.
Key data for the day includes monthly retail sales and
import prices scheduled at 8:30 a.m. ET.
U.S. Senate Republicans late on Monday unveiled proposed
changes to President Donald Trump's sweeping tax-cut bill that
had cleared the House of Representatives in May.
"The Senate's version of tax legislation looks broadly
similar to the House-passed version in its near-term fiscal
effects but would likely cost ... a few hundred billion dollars
more over the next decade," said Goldman Sachs strategists in a
note.
Solar stocks dipped after the Senate's changes to Trump's
tax-cut bill revealed a phase-out of solar, wind and energy tax
credits by 2028.
Shares of Enphase Energy ( ENPH ), which makes solar
inverters, dropped 16.8%. Solar panel sellers Sunrun ( RUN )
fell 28.3% and SolarEdge Technologies ( SEDG ) dropped 21.2%.
First Solar ( FSLR ) lost nearly 12%.
Shares of nuclear power companies rose after the Senate
extended credits for nuclear energy to 2036. Oklo ( OKLO ) was
up 2.8% and Nano Nuclear Energy ( NNE ) rose 2.6%.
As investors flock to traditional safe-haven assets amid
heightened geopolitical uncertainty, a rise in U.S. Treasuries
pushed yields lower across the curve. Yields on the benchmark
10-year fell about 4 basis points to 4.41%.
Among other movers, Eli Lilly ( LLY ) edged down 0.9% after
it agreed to acquire Verve Therapeutics ( VERV ) for up to $1.3
billion. Shares of Verve surged 77.1%.
T-Mobile fell 4.8% after Japan's SoftBank
raised $4.8 billion from a sale of 21.5 million of the
wireless carrier's shares at $224 each, according to a term
sheet
reviewed
by Reuters.