April 22 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were on course to open higher on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran, even as uncertainty remained over whether Iran and U.S. ally Israel would honor the truce.
Trump said the indefinite extension of the ceasefire followed a request by Pakistani mediators. However, the U.S. Navy's blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect, and Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route.
The bullish sentiment points to a market desperate to cling to good news, and reflects investor belief that despite setbacks, the war will be settled at the negotiating table instead of the battlefield.
"At some stage, this rally is going to come to a halt. But I don't think that the majority of investors feel that way at all," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.
At 8:31 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis rose 326 points, or 0.66%, S&P 500 E-minis gained 48.25 points, or 0.68%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis advanced 229.25 points, or 0.86%.
Risks of an inflation flare-up remain, with oil prices near the $100-a-barrel mark.
"The peace process is looking wobbly again as some of the difficult realities of the war come to the fore," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.
"The risk is (that) Iran's domestic political dynamics and strategic tensions between the U.S. and Iran -- not to mention Israel -- maintain an inertia towards escalation."
EARNINGS LIFT SENTIMENT
Investors were also scrutinizing a fresh batch of quarterly reports as the earnings season gathered pace. A strong run of earnings so far has reassured markets about the health of the U.S. consumer, the growth engine of the economy.
S&P 500 EPS estimates for 2026 and 2027 have risen by 4% since late January, according to data from Goldman Sachs.
GE Vernova (GEV.N), advanced 7.5% in premarket trading after the power equipment maker raised its annual revenue forecast. Medical device maker Boston Scientific's (BSX.N), shares were up 1.3%.
United Airlines (UAL.O), added 1.2% after reporting first-quarter earnings. Shares of planemaker Boeing (BA.N), rose 3.9% after a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss.
EV giant Tesla (TSLA.O), chipmaker Texas Instruments (TXN.O), and Southwest Airlines (LUV.N), will report after markets close.
Adobe (ADBE.O), was 3.1% higher after it unveiled a share repurchase program worth up to $25 billion.
Seagate (STX.O), jumped 3.8% after Barclays upgraded the data storage firm's rating to "overweight".
Crypto-related stocks gained, with Coinbase Global (COIN.O), and Strategy (MSTR.O), up 4.5% and 6.4%, respectively.
Reporting by Niket Nishant and Avinash P in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath
