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Fresh Military Strikes Between US, Iran Drag US Equity Futures Pre-Bell

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US equity futures were edging lower pre-bell Thursday as fresh US and Iranian strikes once again threatened the fragile ceasefire between the two nations, reducing optimism surrounding a potential peace deal.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.3% lower, S&P 500 futures were down 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.2% lower.

The US military said it had fired on Iranian drones over the Strait of Hormuz and attacked a military site in the port city of Bandar Abbas, which is the second time in three days it has struck targets in Iran for what it called self-defense. Iran said it responded by launching an attack on an American air base in the region.

Traders observed the latest round of earnings, including those of several major Canadian banks. Royal Bank of Canada (RY) reported higher fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings and revenue, while Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) posted increased fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings amid lower revenue.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 2.2% at $94.26 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 2.4% higher at $90.73 per barrel.

The April core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, released at 8:30 am ET, gained 0.2%, lower than the 0.3% increase in the prior month and the expected 0.3% gain in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Initial jobless claims rose to 215,000 in the week ended May 23 from 210,000 level in the previous week, compared with expectations for a smaller increase to 211,000. Preliminary Q1 GDP growth was recorded at a 1.6% rise, compared with the advance estimate of a 2% increase.

Durable goods new orders rose 7.9% in April after a 1.3% gain in the prior month, compared with expectations for a 4% increase.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.5% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1.3% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.1% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 1%, and Germany's DAX index was 0.7% lower in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, Dell Technologies (DELL) shares were up 4.6% after the company said its unit Dell Federal Systems won a blanket purchase agreement with an overall estimated value of $9.69 billion from the US Navy under the Department of Defense Enterprise Software Initiative. Snowflake (SNOW) stock was 37% higher after the cloud-based data platform lifted its fiscal 2027 product revenue outlook and agreed to a $6 billion infrastructure spending deal with Amazon's (AMZN) Amazon Web Services. Royal Bank of Canada shares were up 1.7% after the bank reported its fiscal Q2 financial results.

On the losing side, HSBC (HSBC) stock was down 2.2% after a Bloomberg News report that UK's Cambridge University was withdrawing its investments from institutions providing financial support to fossil fuels, including the British bank. AstraZeneca (AZN) shares were 0.8% lower after the company said that the US Food and Drug Administration delayed the decision deadline for its new drug application regarding a combination breast cancer treatment.

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$^DJI$^IXIC$^SPX$BSX$ZS