-- The benchmark US stock measures were mostly pointing higher before the open Friday as investors await the week's final round of corporate earnings and track ongoing Middle East tensions, with no apparent signs of progress toward a peace deal between Washington and Tehran.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% in premarket activity, while the Nasdaq was off 0.1%. The indexes finished Thursday's trading session in the green, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq logging new closing highs.
Oil giants Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) are scheduled to release their latest quarterly results before the bell, along with Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Estee Lauder (EL), Moderna (MRNA), Magna International (MGA) and Newell Brands (NWL).
Shares of Apple (AAPL) advanced 2.8% pre-bell as the iPhone maker's fiscal second-quarter results topped market estimates. Reddit (RDDT) climbed 16% after the social media platform recorded better-than-expected first-quarter results and issued an upbeat revenue outlook for the ongoing three-month period at the midpoint. Nvidia (NVDA) rebounded 0.4% following a 4.6% decline at the close of Thursday.
President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday that the US will maintain its naval blockade of Iranian ports, according to Bloomberg News. "Their economy is crashing, the blockade is incredible," Trump reportedly said. "So we'll see how long they hold out."
Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, reportedly said Thursday that Iran will defend its nuclear and missile capabilities.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil inclined 0.3% to $105.43 a barrel before the opening bell, while Brent increased 0.9% to $111.37.
US economic growth fell short of Wall Street's expectations in the first quarter as spending slowed amid inflationary pressures, government data showed Thursday.
Separate official data showed that inflation, as measured by the personal consumption expenditure price index, accelerated in March to the fastest pace since mid-2022 as the Middle East conflict sent energy prices soaring.
Treasury yields were down in premarket action, with the two-year rate nudging 0.1 basis point lower to 3.88% and the 10-year rate decreasing 0.8 basis point to 4.38%.
Friday's economic calendar has the final Purchasing Managers' manufacturing index for April at 9:45 am ET, followed by the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index for the same month at 10 am. The weekly Baker Hughes oil-and-gas rig count posts at 1 pm.
Gold fell 1.1% to $4,578 per troy ounce, while bitcoin rose 1.1% to $77,248.