U.S. stock index futures rise with China summit, Iran escalation in focus

U.S. stock index futures rose on Sunday evening amid some optimism over an upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping, set to take place in Washington this week.

But gains in futures were muted by caution over a potential escalation in the Middle East conflict following more weekend strikes.

S&P 500 Futures rose 0.25% to 7,732.0 points by 19:20 ET (23:20 GMT). Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.33% to 30,015.75 points and Dow Jones Futures rose 0.23% to 52,199.0 points.
Futures rose after a mildly positive Friday session on Wall Street, where technology stocks, specifically chipmakers, recovered some ground after logging deep losses early last week.

A Wall Street Journal report over the weekend showed artificial intelligence giant Anthropic had delayed its planned initial public offering to November from October.

The delay is expected to give the company time to share its third-quarter financials, which are expected to show resilience despite increasing competition from rival OpenAI.

Earlier reports said Anthropic will seek a $2 trillion valuation. Separately, Reuters reported on Sunday that the company will release a new model, likely to compete with OpenAI’s Astra model, before its IPO.

Trade talks begin ahead of Trump-Xi summit
Markets were encouraged by U.S. officials kicking off trade talks with China before a summit between the two countries later this week.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday he is meeting Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York City before the summit, and set a positive tone for the upcoming dialogue.

Trump and Xi are set to meet in Washington on Thursday, marking the first state visit by the Chinese president during Trump’s second term. The U.S. president had visited Beijing earlier this year.

The summit comes as trade relations between the world’s largest economies remain frayed, with Trump and Xi also set to discuss AI developments and regulation during their talks this week.

Washington’s trade tariffs on China are also set to be a main talking point, with a trade truce between the two countries set to expire in early-November.

U.S., Iran trade threats amid Houthi escalation
The U.S. and Iran traded threats over the weekend after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis upped their offensive against Saudi Arabia.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran would face dire economic and political consequences if it did not agree to a deal with Washington, while Tehran warned that any new U.S. attacks would be met with sustained retaliation.

The threats came after the Houthis attacked missile and drone strikes at Riyadh over the weekend, as the group maintained its offensive against Saudi Arabia and shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb strait.