Futures Rally Led by Nasdaq as Chips Surge; Intel Pops 28%
Equities are showing varying degrees of strength this morning, with S&P 500 futures (/ES) up +0.54%, while tech-weighted Nasdaq 100 futures (/NQ) are up the most with a +1.45% pop and the large-cap Dow futures (/YM) are up only +0.12%. Markets seem to have been buoyed by President Trump saying the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire would be extended by three weeks on social media, although the U.S.-Iran conflict remains ongoing and the Strait of Hormuz is still closed.
Intel (INTC) is leading the way in terms of gainers with a +28% surge after earnings, with other chipmakers like AMD (AMD, +13.2%) and Super Micro Computer (SMCI, +4.1%) also rising. Meanwhile, HCA Healthcare (HCA) is the worst performer after its own earnings report, down -6.1%.
Today’s economic data includes Michigan Consumer Sentiment, while traders can look forward to a heavy earnings week focused on the Magnificent 7, with Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META), and Apple (AAPL) are reporting next week.
Snapshot (as of 7 AM ET)
- Crude Oil (/CL): Oil is down -0.64% around 95.22 after a three-day rally of about 13.4% that closed near 97 yesterday.
- Gold (/GC): Gold is down -0.36% near 4,711 after a -1.04% slide yesterday as price continues to wane from highs of 4,917.7 on Apr. 17.
- Bitcoin (/BTC): The cryptocurrency is up +0.56% around 78,675 in early trading, bouncing back from yesterday’s -0.80% decline and continuing a nearly +22% rally since Mar. 30.
- CBOE Vol. Index (VIX): The Vix is trading near 18.88, down modestly from yesterday’s close of 19.31 that sank from intraday highs of 21.56.
- U.S. Dollar (/DX): The greenback is down -0.14% at about 98.45, on pace to end a three-day +0.80% rally that closed at 98.65 yesterday.
Biggest Premarket Movers (as of 7 AM ET)
Top Gainers
- INTC (Intel): +26.49%
- AMD (Advanced Micro Devices): +10.95%
- FIX (Comfort Systems USA): +4.85%
- QCOM (Qualcomm): +4.29%
- SMCI (Super Micro Computer): +3.78%
Top Losers
- HCA (HCA Healthcare): -6.88%
- CHTR (Charter Communications): -3.63%
- SLB (SLB Limited): -3.47%
- HIG (Hartford Insurance Group): -3.31%
- CMCSA (Comcast): -2.56%
Economic Data
10:00 AM ET – Revised University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment
Notable Earnings
Premarket Today: PG, HCA, NSC, CHTR
Postmarket Today: N/A
Premarket Monday: VZ, DPZ
Postmarket Monday: CDNS, PSA, NUE
Upgrades/Downgrades
- DZ Bank upgrades IBM (IBM) to Buy from Hold
- DA Davidson upgrades AMD (AMD) to Buy from Neutral
- Citi upgrades Intel (INTC) to Buy from Neutral
- Evercore ISI upgrades Intel (INTC) to Buy from Hold
- Morgan Stanley downgrades Freeport‑McMoRan (FCX) to Equal Weight from Overweight
- Deutsche Bank downgrades Comcast (CMCSA) to Hold from Buy
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