FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Update: US Equity Futures Fall Pre-Bell as US Threatens Iran's Trade Partners

By

(Updates with economic data, recent oil price movement, world markets' overview and corporate stock movements.)

US equity futures were edging lower pre-bell Thursday as traders monitored the situation in the Middle East, with the US announcing further economic pressure on Iran and threatening its trade partners.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.7% lower, S&P 500 futures were down 0.5%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.8% lower.

President Donald Trump said that Iran will be subject to economic warfare "on an unprecedented scale," while also threatening economic consequences on any country that assists or does business with the Middle Eastern nation. "Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies - It all needs to stop NOW," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi in a post on X dismissed Trump's threat, calling it a diversion from America's challenges of "unprecedented debt & surging interest costs."

Traders assessed the latest round of earnings, with Walmart (WMT) posting higher fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 3% at $94.33 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 3.5% higher at $87.35 per barrel.

Initial jobless claims fell to 206,000 in the week ended Aug. 15 from 212,000 in the previous week, compared with expectations for a decrease to 210,000. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's monthly manufacturing index rose to 47.4 in August from 41.4 in July, compared with expectations for a drop to a reading of 24.8.

July's leading indicators data is scheduled to be released 10 am ET.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 1.4% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.8% higher, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.2% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.5%, and Germany's DAX index was 0.6% lower in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, SK hynix (SKHY) stock was up 1.8% after The Korea Herald reported that the company and its labor union reached a tentative agreement to pay 60% of the chipmaker's profit-sharing bonuses in company shares. Shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM), Shell (SHEL), and TotalEnergies (TTE) were on the upswing as oil prices jumped. Exxon Mobil stock was up 1.8%, Shell shares rose 1.5%, and TotalEnergies stock was 2.3% higher.

On the losing side, Walmart shares fell 6.6% after the company's fiscal Q3 adjusted EPS outlook fell short of analysts' consensus. Alibaba Group (BABA) stock was down 5.8% after the company reported lower-than-expected fiscal Q1 non-GAAP earnings. CrowdStrike (CRWD) shares were 3% lower after the company's global Chief Technology Officer Elia Zaitsev said in a LinkedIn post that he has stepped down from his role to launch an early-stage venture capital fund focused on cybersecurity.

Related Articles

Asia Markets

US Equity Indexes Rise After Most FOMC Participants Support Rate Hold, Treasury Boosts Buybacks

US equity indexes rose on Wednesday after most Federal Open Market Committee participants agreed to maintain the federal funds rate at 3.50% to 3.75%, and the US Treasury said it would ramp up buybacks of long-dated government debt to at least $4 billion per operation in September.The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1% to 26,331.09, and the S&P 500 gained 0.2% to 7,707.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.2% to 53,463.05. Health and consumer discretionary led the gainers, while industrials and technology sectors led the decliners.The yield on 30-year Treasuries fell 10.1 basis points to 5.18%, while the 10-year yield fell 6.7 basis points to 4.64%.Gold futures gained 3.3% to $4,566.6 per ounce, and silver futures rose 3.8% to $66.475.While FOMC participants acknowledged that inflation remained elevated, most of them expected it to simmer over the remainder of the year as the effects of tariffs and earlier energy price hikes fade. They also observed that economic activity continued to expand at a solid pace while labor market conditions appeared stable.President Donald Trump also paused tariffs on certain Canadian goods in a Truth Social post. He also said the Keystone XL Pipeline, which was canceled in 2021, may be revived. The tariff play comes ahead of negotiations for the US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement.In economic news, US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 900,000 barrels in the week ended Aug. 14, following an increase of 11.3 million barrels in the prior week.The US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract rose 0.8% to $85.63 per barrel.US mortgage applications fell by 0.4% in the week ended Aug. 14, with an increase in refinancing activity offset by declining home purchase applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association."In addition to the economic uncertainty, affordability difficulties have reemerged as a reason for homebuyers to delay purchase decisions given the impact of higher mortgage rates on monthly mortgage payments," said MBA deputy chief economist Joel Kan.In company news, Moderna (MRNA) shares climbed 177%, and Merck (MRK) shares gained 12.6% after the companies said a trial of intismeran autogene combined with Keytruda met the primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival and a key secondary endpoint of distant metastasis-free survival in patients with completely resected stage IIB-IV melanoma.Target (TGT) shares rose 4.3% after the company posted higher-than-expected fiscal Q2 results and lifted its 2026 guidance. The company reported fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings of $4.11 per diluted share, up from $2.05 a year earlier and above FactSet consensus of $2.34. Fiscal Q2 net sales were $26.54 billion, up from $25.21 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $26.13 billion. For fiscal 2026, the company lifted its adjusted EPS guidance to between $9.90 and $10.90 from $7.50 to $8.50 earlier, compared with FactSet estimates of $8.52.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$MRK$MRNA$TGT
Asia Markets

US Equity Indexes Rise as Bond Yields Ease After Treasury Raises Buyback Cap, Trump Pauses Canada Tariffs

US equity indexes rose after midday Wednesday after the Treasury Department said it would increase buybacks of long-dated government debt to at least $4 billion per operation in September from $2 billion, and President Donald Trump paused tariffs on certain Canadian goods in a late Tuesday Truth Social post.The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 26,343.5, and the S&P 500 gained 0.3% to 7,716.1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.2% to 53,456.1. Health and materials led the gainers, while technology and industrials led the decliners.The yield on 30-year Treasuries fell 7 basis points to 5.215%, while the 10-year yield fell 3 basis points to 4.677%.Trump also said the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, which was canceled in 2021, may be revived. The tariff play comes ahead of negotiations for the US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement.Gold futures gained 3% to $4,553.5 per ounce, and silver futures rose 3% to $65.95.In economic news, US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 900,000 barrels in the week ended Aug. 14, following an increase of 11.3 million barrels in the prior week.Excluding SPR inventories, commercial crude oil stocks rose by 4.4 million barrels compared with a 17.4-million-barrel gain in the week prior, and the 200,000-barrel increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.The US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract rose 2.4% to $86.99 per barrel.US mortgage applications fell by 0.4% in the week ended Aug. 14, with an increase in refinancing activity offset by declining home purchase applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association."In addition to the economic uncertainty, affordability difficulties have reemerged as a reason for homebuyers to delay purchase decisions given the impact of higher mortgage rates on monthly mortgage payments," said MBA deputy chief economist Joel Kan.In company news, Moderna (MRNA) shares climbed 150%, and Merck (MRK) shares gained 11.5% after the companies said a trial of intismeran autogene combined with Keytruda met the primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival and a key secondary endpoint of distant metastasis-free survival in patients with completely resected stage IIB-IV melanoma.Target (TGT) shares rose 5.8% after the company posted higher-than-expected fiscal Q2 results and boosted its 2026 guidance. The company reported fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings of $4.11 per diluted share, up from $2.05 a year earlier and above FactSet consensus of $2.34. Fiscal Q2 net sales were $26.54 billion, up from $25.21 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $26.13 billion. For fiscal 2026, the company lifted its adjusted EPS guidance to between $9.90 and $10.90 from $7.50 to $8.50 earlier, compared with FactSet estimates of $8.52.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$MRK$MRNA$TGT
Asia Markets

Exchange-Traded Funds Higher as US Equities Gain After Midday

Broad Market IndicatorsBroad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV were higher. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.3%.US equity indexes rose after midday Wednesday as Moderna (MRNA) and Merck (MRK) surged on positive results from a late-stage trial of their melanoma vaccine, and the US Treasury said it would double the buybacks of long-dated government debt.EnergyIShares US Energy ETF (IYE) gained 0.5% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) rose about 0.3%.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) shed 0.5%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) eased 0.2% and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) also declined 0.3%.The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) shed 1.7%, and iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) was down 1.6%.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) declined 0.1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) advanced 0.4%, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), declined 0.4%.CommoditiesCrude oil rose 2%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) added 1.5%. Natural gas gained 1.8%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was up 1.4%.Gold on Comex increased 3.1%, and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was up 3.4%. Silver was 3.1% higher, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was up 3.6%.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was up 0.9%. The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) added 0.9%, and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) rose 0.3%.The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was up 1.8%. VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) added 1.1%, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) rose 2%.HealthcareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) added 2.6%. iShares US Healthcare (IYH) gained 2.8% and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) was 2.5% higher. IShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed up 4.6%.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) shed 0.5%. Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) fell 0.5%, and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) was also down 0.2%.CryptocurrencyIn midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose 6.4%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) added 6.4%, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) was up 9.6%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was 7.3% higher.

Dow Jones^EEM^EXI^FAS^FAZ^GLD^IBB^IGM^IGV^IPK^IVV^IWMNasdaq Composite^IYE^IYH^IYJ^IYK^IYW^PMR^QQQ^RTH^SOXXS&P 500^SPY^UNG^USO^VDC^VHT^VIS^XLE^XLF^XLI^XLK^XLP^XLV^XRT^XSD$BETH$BITO$EETH$MRK$MRNA