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US Equity Futures Edge Lower Pre-Bell as Nvidia Stock Flat Despite Earnings Beat, Middle East Peace Talks Drag
US equity futures were edging lower pre-bell Thursday despite upbeat fiscal Q1 financial results posted by Nvidia (NVDA) and amid continued lack of solid progress in the Middle East peace talks.Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.3% lower, S&P 500 futures were down 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.5% lower.In addition to surpassing analysts' expectations for fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue, Nvidia raised its quarterly dividend and announced an additional $80 billion share repurchase authorization. However, the company's stock was largely flat in premarket activity.President Donald Trump said the US was ready to resume attacks on Iran if its leadership did not agree to a peace deal, but that it could wait a few days. Iran's Supreme Leader has ordered the country's highly enriched uranium to not be sent abroad, which is one of the main US demands, according to a Reuters report citing two senior Iranian sources.Traders kept an eye on the latest round of earnings, with Walmart (WMT) posting higher fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue.Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 1.7% at $106.80 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 2.4% higher at $100.62 per barrel.US initial jobless claims fell to a level of 209,000 in the employment survey week ended May 16 from an upwardly revised 212,000 level in the previous week, compared with expectations for a smaller decrease to 210,000 in survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:30 am ET.April housing starts fell by 2.8% from the previous month to a 1.465 million annual rate, compared with expectations compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:30 am ET for a 1.410 million rate after an increase to a 1.507 million pace in March.The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's monthly manufacturing index fell to minus 0.4 in May after rising to 26.7 in April, compared with expectations for a smaller decrease to a reading of 17.8 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.The May S&P Global Composite Purchasing Managers' Index, due at 9:45 am ET, is seen coming in at 53.8.Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin is scheduled to speak on Thursday.In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 3.1% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 2% lower. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.3%, and Germany's DAX index was 0.5% lower in Europe's early afternoon session.In equities, Shell (SHEL) stock was up 1.2% and BP (BP) shares rose 1% after the companies, along with Indonesia's PT Perusahaan Gas Negara, and PT PLN Energi Primer Indonesia, signed agreements with Japan's Inpex for liquified natural gas offtake from the Abadi LNG Project at the Masela Block in offshore Indonesia. Shares of IBM (IBM), GlobalFoundries (GFS), and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) were up after the companies said they are included among the major quantum companies set to receive billions in proposed US government backing. IBM stock was up 5.8%, GlobalFoundries shares rose 13%, and D-Wave Quantum stock was 15% higher.On the losing side, Intuit (INTU) stock was 16% lower after RBC and Northcoast Research cut their price targets for the stock. Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares were down 1.2% following an Axios report about the company challenging Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency over its ability to bid for a contract to modernize the agency's data analytics system.
Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$BP$GFS$IBM$INTU$NVDA$PLTR$QBTS$SHEL$WMT
