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Interest Rates, Oil Prices Limit Wall Street Pre-Bell; Asia Off, Europe Flat

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Wall Street futures were muted pre-bell Tuesday, as traders weighed a generally good earnings season against a still-uncertain outlook for the Strait of Hormuz, and rising interest rates.

In the futures, the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, the Nasdaq inclined 0.3% and the Dow Jones was steady.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil traded up 1.7% to $83.54 a barrel in morning hours, while 10-year US Treasuries offered 4.73%, the highest yield since early 2023.

However, chip stocks remained in favor, with the VanEck Semiconductor fund gaining 1% before the open.

Asian exchanges waffled lower overnight, as tech and property stocks lagged in Hong Kong. Tokyo trading floors were dark on holiday.

In Asian market news, mainland China humanoid robot-maker Unitree Robotics priced its IPO to raise $904 million, valuing the enterprise at $9 billion, while retail investors oversubscribed the offering by 5,500 times, reported the South China Morning Post.

European bourses tracked steadily midday on the continent.

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) reports quarterly results after-bell, among others.

On the economic calendar is the existing homes sales bulletin for July, at 10 am ET.

In pre-market action, bitcoin traded at $64,237 and spot gold commanded $4,379 an ounce.

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