New York, May 7, 2026, 07:03 EDT
- S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures hovered close to their record levels, leaving U.S. stock futures almost flat ahead of the open.
- Oil slipped for another session, with traders anticipating that a narrow U.S.-Iran agreement might relieve some of the strain on crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Weekly jobless claims hit at 8:30 a.m. ET. Attention is shifting to Friday’s payrolls report—that’s the Fed’s big test now.
U.S. stock index futures barely budged early Thursday, with contracts for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq sticking near all-time highs in the wake of a two-day surge driven by AI names and a steep drop in oil. Latest premarket moves had Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 futures each sitting within 0.1% of unchanged.
This pause is notable: Wall Street’s already at new highs rather than clawing back from losses. On Wednesday, chip names helped push both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record closes. The Dow, too, jumped 1.24% to finish at 49,910.59—just shy of that 50,000 milestone.
Oil is the other big driver. The U.S. and Iran appear to be edging closer to a short-term truce to pause hostilities, according to Reuters, but major issues are still hanging. Brent crude hovered near $98 a barrel on Thursday, having dropped sharply. “The contents of the U.S.-Iran peace proposals are thin,” said Takamasa Ikeda, senior portfolio manager at GCI Asset Management. Reuters
Cheaper oil tends to clear the way for stocks, taking some heat off inflation and boosting consumer spending. Still, this isn’t a green light just yet—Tehran hasn’t weighed in, and the proposal punts thornier problems like Iran’s nuclear ambitions and unrestricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to future negotiations.
Labor is up next on the data docket. ADP reported 109,000 new jobs in U.S. private payrolls for April—the biggest jump since January 2025. Economists surveyed by Reuters, though, are looking for just 62,000 new jobs in Friday’s official nonfarm payrolls report, with unemployment pegged at 4.3%. “Solid but precarious,” is how Elizabeth Renter, senior economist at NerdWallet, sums up the labor market. Reuters
The Federal Reserve remains front and center. According to Reuters, traders are now pricing in steady rates through year-end, reversing earlier wagers on multiple cuts. “Bad news on the labor side” would be needed for a cut, said Vail Hartman, U.S. rates strategist at BMO Capital Markets. Reuters
Earnings are still holding things up. S&P 500 companies are on track for first-quarter profit growth of 28.2% year-over-year, based on LSEG figures that combine already-reported numbers and forecasts for companies yet to announce, Reuters reported. Deutsche Bank chief U.S. equity strategist Binky Chadha called it the “strongest in two decades” for earnings growth, if you set aside special items. Reuters
Chipmakers kept driving the action. Advanced Micro Devices jumped almost 19% Wednesday after it projected stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue. Intel tacked on 4.5%, with the PHLX chip index up the same amount—lifting its 2026 run to 62%. Nvidia advanced 5.7% after Corning announced it will team up with the company to boost U.S. output of optical connectivity gear for AI data centers.
Premarket action was choppy. Snap slipped after the company flagged weak first-quarter ad revenue, blaming fallout from the Middle East conflict and sluggish momentum in North America. Whirlpool lost ground too, following a miss on first-quarter sales and a suspended dividend. Arm Holdings dropped as well—even after offering a strong revenue outlook—amid investor worries about supply for its new AI chip.
DoorDash shares climbed before the bell, with the delivery firm projecting robust total order value for the second quarter. Uber, a competitor, had also issued a bullish bookings outlook lately, crediting some of that to its delivery segment. Morningstar’s Mark Giarelli, in a note, said the expected drag from high gas prices on consumers “hasn’t materialized” in company results. Reuters
There’s a catch, though—this view depends on oil prices remaining low and AI profits spreading further than just the usual megacap suspects. Valuations aren’t exactly a bargain; the S&P 500 was recently trading at 21.2 times projected earnings for the next year, well above its historical average of 16, per LSEG Datastream numbers in Reuters.
Thursday kicks off with jobless claims dropping at 8:30 a.m. ET, traders scanning for signals out of Iran, and eyes on whether AI-linked leaders can hang onto their record highs. The market sits quietly pre-open, but potential catalysts are already lined up.
