US, Russia Begin Ukrainian Peace Talks, Intel Shares Surge: What's Driving Markets Tuesday?

Author: Erica Kollmann | February 18, 2025 01:47pm

Major U.S. indices are little-changed in Tuesday's midday trading as investors monitor recent geopolitical developments and anticipate the release of the latest FOMC minutes on Wednesday.

U.S. and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia Tuesday to begin peace negotiations, marking their first high-level talks on the war in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022. The initial talks were intended as "trust-building" and could lay the groundwork for a future meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian and other European officials were notably absent from Tuesday's discussions. 

WTI crude oil futures held steady as diplomatic talks between the U.S. and Russia raised hopes for reduced geopolitical risks. 

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The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose 0.04%, back above the 4.5% threshold as investors digested recent comments from Fed officials, including Christopher Waller, Michelle Bowman and Patrick Harker, which reinforced expectations that interest rates will remain on hold in the near term.  

All eyes will be on Wednesday's release of the latest FOMC's minutes set for 2 p.m. ET. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT) fell 0.57% to $88.64. 

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was down 1.16% to $94,672 as crypto markets fell broadly Tuesday.  

Tuesday's Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	1 day % chg.
Nasdaq 100	20,000.73	-0.12%
S&P 500	6,115.46	0.01%
Dow Jones	44,454.56	-0.19%
Russell 2000	2,288.09	0.36%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) inched up 0.1% to $610.31. 
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) was down 0.17% at $445.03. 
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) rose 0.04% to $538.36. 
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) eased 0.44% to $226.97.
• The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) dipped 0.53% to $225.81. 
• The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) rose 0.95% to $90.93. 

Tuesday's Stock Movers: 

Shares of Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) surged following reports suggesting Broadcom, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.(NYSE:TSM) are considering bids for portions of the company.

Stocks reacting to company earnings reports included: 

• Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) 
• Constellation Energy Corp. (NASDAQ:CEG) 
• Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) 
• Watsco, Inc.  (NYSE:WSO) 
• Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXSM) 
• Donnelley Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:DFIN) 
• Fluor Corp. (NYSE:FLR) 
• Medtronic Plc. (NYSE:MDT) 
• GeneDx Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:WGS) 
• Entergy Corp. (NYSE:ETR) 
• iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) 

Companies reporting after Tuesday's closing bell include: 

• Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:OXY) 
• Matador Resources Co. (NYSE:MTDR) 
• Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE:DVN) 
• Bumble, Inc. (NASDAQ:BMBL) 
• Sonoco Products Co. (NYSE:SON) 
• Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) 
• Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) 
• Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) 
• Matador Resources Co. (NYSE:MTDR)

Read Next:

• Explosion Rocks Chernobyl Nuclear Site As Zelenskyy Signals Readiness For Peace Talks 

Image: Shutterstock.

Posted In: $BTC AVGO AXSM BIDU BMBL CEG DFIN DIA DVN ETR FELE FLR FOUR INTC IQ IWM MDT MTDR OXY QQQ