
Markets Mixed with Eyes on Middle East, Tech
PUBLISHED | 2 min read
U.S. stock futures are mixed premarket as traders monitor Middle East developments and sell tech stocks following an underwhelming report from Broadcom (AVGO).
The S&P 500 snapped a nine-session winning streak Wednesday, with stocks pressured by rising yields, geopolitical risk and higher oil prices. Despite earnings that beat analyst expectations, shares of semiconductor giant Broadcom traded nearly 15% lower and cybersecurity stalwart CrowdStrike (CRWD) fell 10% after guiding for lackluster second-quarter revenue guidance.
Investor focus Thursday will be on earnings fallout, economic data along with a U.S-brokered Israel-Lebanon ceasefire agreement.
Snapshot (as of 8 AM ET)
- Oil (/CL) – Oil prices are down nearly 4% to near $92 per barrel
- Gold (/GC) – Gold futures are up about 1.4% to $4,533.50
- Bitcoin (/BTC) – The cryptocurrency is down more than 4%
- VIX – The CBOE Volatility Index has moved up more than 2% to 16.44
- U.S. Dollar (/DX) – The dollar is down 0.33% to 99.20
Biggest Premarket Movers (as of 8 AM ET)
Gainers:
- UnitedHealth Group (UNH) 2.72%
- Accenture plc (ACN) 2.63%
- ServiceNow inc (NOW) 2.63%
- Zoetis inc (ZTS) 2.59%
- The Cigna Group (CI) 2.50%
Decliners:
- Broadcom inc (AVGO) -14.91%
- CrowdStrike hlgs (CRWD) -9.31%
- Ciena corp (CIEN) -8.12%
- Micron technology inc (MU) -7.15%
- Super Micro Computer (SMCI) -6.71%
Economic Data (ET)
- 5:30 AM Challenger Job Cuts
- 8:30 AM Jobless Claims
- 8:30 AM Productivity and Costs
- 8:30 AM Fed’s Barkin Speaks
- 10:30 AM Natural Gas Inventories
- 1:10 PM Fed’s Daly Speaks
Upgrades/Downgrades
- Keybanc upgrades Murphy Oil (MUR) to Overweight from Sector Weight
- Jefferies upgrades RTX (RTX) to Buy from Hold
- Bank of America upgrades UnitedHealth (UNH) to Buy from Neutral
- Macquarie downgrades Broadcom (AVGO) to Neutral from Outperform
- Evercore ISI downgrades PVH Corp. (PVH) to In Line from Outperform
- Wells Fargo downgrades Commercial Metals (CMC) to Equal Weight from Overweight

