Futures steady as investors watch Middle East peace deal
S&P 500 and Dow futures were steady on Thursday after this week's record-breaking rally as investors awaited details on a Middle East peace deal, while Nasdaq futures slipped as strong forecasts from Western Digital and SanDisk failed to impress.
At 05:07 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 159 points, or 0.29%, and S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 8.25 points, or 0.11%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were down 155.25 points, or 0.52%.
Megacaps mixed as markets focus on oil, Fed and jobs data
Megacaps such as Meta META.O and Amazon AMZN.O were marginally higher, while Alphabet GOOGL.O was up about 0.7%, a day after dropping 4% on an announcement about a leadership overhaul of its AI division. Apple AAPL.O rose 0.8%.
SpaceX SPCX.O rose 1.5% ahead of the space conglomerate's first post-IPO share lockup expiry.
Brent crude prices LCOc1 traded in a tight range near $80 a barrel as markets were keen on any signs of a deal between Iran and the U.S. A proposed deal between Iran and Oman would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Reuters.
The Federal Reserve has been keen on the outlook for energy costs, with most central bankers voicing that they were prepared to act if price pressures increase. St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem is expected to speak on monetary policy later in the day.
Probabilities for no change versus a rate hike in September are now closer to even, the CME FedWatch Tool showed. Last week, traders were pricing in a 37% chance for rates staying unchanged versus 63% for a rate increase.
A report at 8:30 a.m. ET is expected to show jobless claims in the week ended Aug. 1 stood at 202,000, up from 197,000 the week before. The greater focus will be on the official non-farm payrolls figures for July due on Friday.
Markets also await reports from ConocoPhilips COP.N, Molson Coors TAP.N and Keurig Dr Pepper KDP.O among others.
Chip stocks fall after strong forecasts from Western Digital and SanDisk
Data storage company Western Digital WDC.O lost 15% and memory chip maker Sandisk SNDK.O dropped 9% in premarket trading, after having shot up 200% and 400% this year. Both the companies forecast quarterly revenue above expectations, betting on strong AI-driven demand.
Shares of other chip stocks such as Micron MU.O shed 3.5%, while Advanced Micro Devices AMD.O, Marvell Technology MRVL.O and Intel INTC.O lost over 1% each.
The broader AI-linked group of stocks showed signs of cooling from a rally.
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