US Pre-Market: US Rejects Iran Ceasefire Proposal, Three Major US Index Futures Under Pressure, Crude Oil Continues to Rise, Precious Metals Continue to Trend Lower

TradingKey - On May 15, Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock index futures trended lower in pre-market trading, with Dow Jones futures falling 0.64%, Nasdaq 100 futures dropping 1.37%, and S&P 500 futures declining 0.97%. Stocks related to the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index continued to come under renewed pressure.

WTI and Brent crude futures continued to climb after Brent crude futures briefly approached the $110 mark. According to reports, the U.S. has rejected a "14-point" written proposal from Iran to end the war. The reports stated that the U.S. government has responded to the proposal, rejecting Tehran's plan and "reaffirming its hardline stance," particularly on the nuclear issue.

In addition, spot gold once fell over 2%, breaking below the $4,600 mark, and was down 2.14% at $4,550 per ounce as of press time; spot silver dropped more than 6.3% at one point to $78.1 per ounce.

Market Movement

Figma shares rose more than 12% in pre-market trading. Figma's first-quarter revenue reached $333.4 million, up 46% year-over-year, exceeding market expectations of $313.2 million. The growth rate accelerated further from 40% in the previous quarter, marking two consecutive quarters of acceleration. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.10, also beating the expected $0.06. Paying customers grew 54% year-over-year to approximately 690,000, while the adoption rate of AI features continued to climb, driving a more than 150% year-over-year increase in new users switching to the Pro Team paid plan.

Cerebras swung from a gain to a loss in pre-market trading. Cerebras shares pulled back from a 7% gain to a loss of over 6%; the company was once seen as Nvidia's biggest challenger. AI chip star Cerebras debuted on its first day of trading on May 14 ET, quickly surging to $385—a gain of over 108% that triggered a circuit breaker—before paring gains to close up more than 68%.

POET swung from a gain to a loss in pre-market trading; POET shares pulled back from a nearly 6.5% gain to a drop of more than 10% in pre-market trading. Previously, POET and Lumilens announced a supply agreement and joint development partnership to advance wafer-level photonic integration solutions for next-generation AI optical networks based on the Electrical-Optical Interposer (EOI) platform.

Tech heavyweights fell broadly, with Intel dropping more than 4%. Substantial prior gains prompted a broad correction in the semiconductor sector. Furthermore, heavy selling of South Korean chip giants Samsung and SK Hynix during the Asian session not only weighed on the South Korean market but also triggered a global decline in semiconductor stocks.

Market Headlines

The fundamental conflict between the U.S. and Iran remains unresolved. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently expressed a cautious stance on negotiations, primarily citing a lack of trust due to "conflicting messages." Tehran emphasized its desire to maintain the ceasefire through diplomatic channels while preparing for a potential return to conflict. Core disagreements include nuclear-related issues and control over the Strait. On the U.S. side, Trump stated that patience is running thin and is seeking to push for the full reopening of the Strait through international channels.

The United States has rejected Iran’s "14-point" written proposal to end the war. Reports state that the U.S. government has responded to the written proposal by rejecting Tehran’s plan and "reiterating its hardline stance," particularly regarding nuclear issues. The Iranian proposal was based on a two-stage negotiation process: the first stage aimed to end the war on all fronts; if Iran’s conditions were met, a second stage of negotiations on nuclear issues would be initiated.

Iran claims that it is not seeking to develop nuclear weapons. According to a report by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on the 15th, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi stated that Iran does not seek to develop nuclear weapons and that the Strait of Hormuz should be jointly managed by Iran and Oman.

Key Data/Events Preview

US May Empire State Manufacturing Index

US April Industrial Production MoM (%)

Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino delivers a speech on May 14 local time