June 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were subdued on Monday after Friday's public holiday, as investors gauged progress in the latest round of U.S.-Iran negotiations.
U.S. and Iranian officials made "encouraging progress" at the first round of talks in Switzerland that ended early on Monday, mediators said, although tension persisted over Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices fell as much as 2%, as Washington and Tehran agreed to a roadmap toward a final deal within 60 days.
Hopes of a peace deal helped the three key indexes end with significant weekly gains on Thursday, with the Nasdaq (.IXIC), gaining 2.4% as technology shares continued to drive markets higher.
At 6:57 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 13 points, or 0.02%, and S&P 500 E-minis were down 12 points, or 0.16%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 1 point.
Shares of memory chipmakers moved higher in premarket trading, with Micron Technology (MU.O), and SanDisk (SNDK.O), gaining about 4% each. Intel (INTC.O), rose 3.8%.
The next test for the rally will be Micron's quarterly results on Wednesday. Shares of the memory chipmaker have risen almost 300% for the year.
AI-driven optimism has supported Wall Street's recent rally, while a resilient economy and hopes for an end to the four-month-long Middle East conflict have bolstered the broader market.
A key focus this week will be on Thursday's PCE data, the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of core inflation. A hotter-than-expected reading is likely to reinforce expectations of a hawkish Federal Reserve after Chair Kevin Warsh underscored the need to curb inflation at last week's meeting.
"Given the hawkish tone from Kevin Warsh following his inaugural rate-setting meeting, coupled with ongoing uncertainty around the strength of President (Donald) Trump's peace deal with Iran, markets can be forgiven for taking stock ahead of the mid-year earnings season," said Derren Nathan, head of equities research, Hargreaves Lansdown.
Markets currently expect a 25-basis-point rate hike from the Fed in September, according to LSEG data. Yields on 2-year notes, which reflect near-term rate expectations, hit their highest level since early 2025 at 4.230%.
Comments from central bank speakers this week including New York President John Williams and Chicago President Austan Goolsbee will also be closely watched for policy signals.
Among other movers, SpaceX (SPCX.O), shares slipped 5.2% to $175.3 after two straight sessions of drops following a stellar debut.
Apogee Therapeutics (APGE.O), jumped 50.8% after AbbVie said it would acquire the biotech for $10.9 billion in cash.
Reporting by Twesha Dikshit and Joel Jose in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Maju Samuel
