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US stock futures pulled back on Friday, setting up for weekly losses as oil turned higher amid continued worries tied to the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and the S&P 500 (ES=F) both fell about 0.6%. Meanwhile, futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (^IXIC) sank 0.8%, eyeing another downbeat day after stocks on Wall Street closed lower on Thursday.
Stocks are sliding as investors assess an Axios report that the Trump administration is considering plans to occupy or blockade Kharg Island, vital to Iran’s oil exports. The risky operation would aim to put pressure on Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to tanker shipping of crude.
Oil prices reversed course to resume their rally, shaking off US and Israel’s bid to calm nerves about Iran war risks to supply. On Friday, Iran pressed ahead with attacks on Persian Gulf neighbors as analysts warned existing damage would keep oil prices elevated. Brent (BZ=F) futures rose 1.2% to top $109 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) futures were slightly higher at above $96.
The major US stock gauges are on track for a fourth weekly decline in a row, bruised by the surge in oil prices. Both the Dow (^DJI) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) are approaching correction territory, at around 8% below recent record highs. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is about 5% off its peak.
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Iran keeps striking Gulf as Israel pledges to spare energy sites
Bloomberg reports:
Iran pressed ahead with attacks on Arab states in the Persian Gulf even after Israel signaled it would refrain from hitting the Islamic Republic’s energy infrastructure, fueling volatility in markets roiled by the war in the oil-rich region.
Kuwait shut several units at its Al Ahmadi refinery after multiple strikes. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia said they intercepted missiles and drones overnight into Friday, while Bahrain reported a fire at a warehouse.
Israel said it struck infrastructure across Iran, including in the capital Tehran, while the Islamic Republic launched a fresh wave of retaliatory missile attacks.
The fighting, which has dragged on for three weeks, has killed more than 4,200 people across the region and brought shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for about a fifth of global oil and LNG flows — to a near standstill. Iran’s attacks on critical energy sites have eased from a peak earlier this week, helping push oil prices lower after they hit an almost four-year high.
Still, risks of lasting damage to energy supplies remain, with Qatar saying almost a fifth of its LNG production has been knocked out for as long as five years. The fallout of the war is spreading globally, with fuel, shipping and household costs already rising.
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Premarket trending tickers: Cheniere Energy, Dell, and Unilever
Cheniere Energy, Inc. (LNG) stock rose 2% during premarket hours on Friday, following the attacks by Iran on a major Middle East liquefied natural gas hub.
Dell (DELL) stock rose more than 2% during premarket hours today. The tech company’s stock is up 24% year-to-date, as the company benefits from rapid growth in its AI server business.
Unilever (UL) stock moved up 1% before the bell on Friday following the news that it’s in talks to sell its food business to McCormick & Co (MKC), transforming the owner of Hellmann’s mayonnaise into a maker of beauty and personal care products in the biggest overhaul since it was founded almost a century ago.
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Supermicro stock dives after co-founder is charged with sending Nvidia-powered tech to China
The US has charged a Supermicro Computer (SMCI) co-founder — a US citizen — with smuggling Nvidia (NVDA)-powered servers to China, contravening restrictions on the AI technology.
California-based Supermicro is a key assembler of AI servers based on Nvidia components, and it accounts for about 9% of the chip giant’s revenue, per Bloomberg.
Shares of Supermicro plunged over 20% in premarket trading after three arrests linked to the case.
Bloomberg reports:
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FedEx stock jumps as higher Q3 sales boost outlook
FedEx (FDX) stock rose 8% before the bell on Friday after raising its full-year outlook due to a rise in revenue and package yields in its fiscal third quarter.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
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Wall Street faces a $5.7 trillion triple-witching jolt on Friday
From Bloomberg:
Wall Street equities traders are bracing for an unusually large tally of options expiring on Friday, which risks injecting even more volatility into a market that’s seen weeks of turbulence amid the raging Mideast conflict.
Roughly $5.7 trillion in notional options tied to individual US stocks, indexes and exchange-traded funds are set to expire on Friday in the quarterly event that traders have dubbed the “triple-witching” — the largest March expiry in Citigroup Inc. data going back to 1996. That figure includes $4.1 trillion in index contracts, $772 billion in exchange-traded funds and $875 billion in single-stock options.
The event, which forces traders to close, roll or rebalance positions, has long carried a reputation for triggering abrupt price swings as large pools of derivatives exposure suddenly vanish.
This quarter’s expiration arrives at a particularly fraught moment for markets, with bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts fading as the Iran war has sparked a rally in crude prices and concerns over inflation. Hostilities continued on Thursday amid escalating attacks in the Persian Gulf on energy facilities.
While the S&P 500 Index (^GSPC) is only about 6% below its January record, the Cboe Volatility Index — a key gauge of expected equity swings — is well above its six-month average, underscoring lingering investor angst.
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Alibaba sets $100B goal for AI revenue
Bloomberg reports:
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Gold on track for biggest loss in six years
Bloomberg reports:
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