Futures Extend Weekly Gains on Ceasefire Hopes, Record Highs in Tech
U.S. stock futures are slightly higher in premarket trading and extending this week’s gain after President Donald Trump said that the war in Iran “should be ending pretty soon.” The positive moves come after Trump made the remarks at an event in Las Vegas Thursday and described the conflict as “going along swimmingly.”
His remarks came hours after he announced that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day ceasefire. The S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 (NDX) settled at another record high on Thursday with the NDX on a 12-session win streak – its longest since 2009. Netflix (NFLX) shares are down 10% this morning despite beating earnings estimates last night.
The streaming company gave weaker than anticipated guidance and Reed Hastings, Netflix’s co-founder and current chairman, would exit the board in June when his term expires. With no economic data, investor focus will be on headlines out of the Middle East along with oil prices, which are down over 3% this morning. Morning Movers
Snapshot (as of 7 AM ET)
- Oil (/CL) – Oil prices are down about 5% near $87 a barrel and extending its losses to 8% this week. The moves come after U.S. President Donald Trump said that the war in Iran “should be ending pretty soon,” while a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon raised hopes of easing supply disruptions. Trump on Thursday said that “the war in Iran is going along swimmingly,” reiterating rosy predictions about the end of the war that began on Feb. 28.
- Gold (/GC) – – Gold futures are relatively flat near $4810 and is on track for a fourth straight weekly gain, as hopes for a U.S.-Iran peace deal eased fears of higher inflation and elevated interest rates.
- Bitcoin (/BTC) – The Crypto Future is flat near 75,500 in premarket trading.
- VIX –The CBOE Volatility Index was down 1.3% on Thursday and settled at 17.94 as stocks were higher. It was the lowest closing price for the VIX since February 25th.
- U.S. Dollar (/DX) – The dollar is relatively flat in the session, trading at 98.08.
Biggest Premarket Movers (as of 7 AM ET)
- ORACLE CORP (ORCL): +2.66%
- NISOURCE INC (NI): +2.68%
- SALESFORCE INC (CRM): +2.68%
- ECHOSTAR CORP (SATS): +2.64%
- ADOBE INC (ADBE): +2.15%
- NETFLIX INC (NFLX): −10.16%
- ALBEMARLE CORP (ALB): −2.61%
- OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM (OXY): −1.71%
- EXELON CORP (EXC): −1.43%
- ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES (AMD): −1.19%
Economic Data
- 11:30 AM ET: FOMC Member Daly Speaks
- 12:15 PM ET: FOMC Member Barkin Speaks
- 2:00 PM ET: FOMC Member Waller Speaks
Notable Earnings
- Premarket: ALV, ALLY, BMI, ERIC, FITB, RF, STT, TFC
- Postmarket: N/A
- Premarket Monday: CLF
- Postmarket Monday: ALK, STLD, WTFC, ZION
Upgrades/Downgrades
- Mizuho upgrades Texas Instruments (TXN) to Neutral from Underperform
- Mizuho upgrades STMicroelectronics (STM) to Outperform from Neutral
- BNP Paribas upgrades BP (BP) to Outperform from Neutral
- Mizuho double-downgrades NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) to Underperform from Outperform
- Wolfe Research downgrades Qorvo (QRVO) to Peer Perform from Outperform.
- National Bank downgrades Newmont (NEM) to Sector Perform from Outperform
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