S&P 500 futures edged higher on Wednesday, led by gains in chipmakers, though gains were kept in check as tensions between Iran and the U.S. remained elevated.

Futures tied to the broad market index gained 0.1%, while Nasdaq-100 futures
 added 0.4%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were trading around the flatline.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) advanced more than 1%, led by a 3% gain in ASML. The semiconductor equipment maker hiked its sales outlook for the second time this year. Intel and Lam Research
 were up more than 2%.

Crude prices perked up, however, after U.S. Central Command said the U.S. launched more attacks against Iran. “The strikes are designed to further degrade military capabilities Iranian forces have used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.

West Texas Intermediate futures were up 0.6% at above $79 per barrel. 

International Brent gained 0.7% to trade above $85 per barrel.

Stocks climbed Tuesday after a cooler-than-expected inflation report bolstered hopes that the Federal Reserve may not need to raise interest rates as aggressively this year. The report prompted traders to scale back expectations for near-term Fed tightening.

The probability of a rate hike at the central bank’s July meeting fell to 17% from 42% a day earlier, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool. Markets, however, continue to price in an increase later this year, with traders assigning a 63% probability that rates will be a quarter- or half-percentage point higher following the September meeting.

“While energy played a big role in the price deceleration, the easing was pretty broad and spread across a bunch of categories, a relief to investors,” Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, said in a note. “However, the Fed and economy aren’t in the clear – inflation is still elevated on an absolute basis, oil is back on an upswing, and AI is proving to be very inflationary at the moment.”