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US STOCK INDEX FUTURES EDGE UP AS INVESTORS HOPEFUL OF PROGRESS IN IRAN TALKS

U.S. stock index futures are higher as yields eased on Friday with investors holding on to hopes of some progress in talks between the United States and Iran to end the Middle East war.

S&P 500 e-mini futures EScv1 are up about 0.5%.

Investors are keeping close tabs on developments on talks over the conflict. Iran's foreign minister met Pakistan's interior minister on Friday to discuss proposals to end the U.S.-Israeli war, Iranian media reported.

Tehran and Washington remain at odds over Tehran's uranium stockpile and controls on the Strait of Hormuz.

Worries about higher inflation have rattled markets in the weeks since the February 28 start of the war.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield is down on Friday, while oil prices are up slightly.

Here is the premarket snapshot:

(Caroline Valetkevitch)

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