
U.S. Markets Headed for 4th Week of Losses
U.S. stock futures are modestly lower in premarket trading and are setting up for a fourth straight week of losses for the S&P 500 (SPX).
Stocks fell on Thursday but closed well off their lows after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was assisting the U.S. “in intel and other means” to open the Strait of Hormuz. He added that Iran had lost the ability to enrich uranium and produce ballistic missiles, noting the conflict may end faster than many fear. This sent oil prices lower but crude remains up more than 40% this month.
On the corporate front, FedEx (FDX) shares are up 7% after the delivery giant posted strong fiscal third quarter results last night and raised its guidance for 2026. Investor focus will remain on headline risks from the Middle East today along with Oil price volatility.
Snapshot (as of 7 AM ET)
- Oil (/CL) – Oil prices are down 1% near $94.50 a barrel after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington may soon lift sanctions on Iranian crude stored aboard tankers — a move aimed at easing price pressures following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “In the coming days, we may unsanction the Iranian oil that’s on the water, about 140 million barrels,” Bessent told Fox Business Network. He said bringing the sanctioned Iranian crude back into global markets would help cap prices over the next 10 to 14 days.
- Gold (/GC) – Gold prices are up 1.5% near $4,66\70, but were headed for a third consecutive weekly decline, pressured by a firm U.S. dollar and as a hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve dampened hopes for near-term interest rate cuts.
- Bitcoin (/BTC) – The Crypto Future is flat near 70,400 in premarket trading.
- VIX – The CBOE Volatility Index was down 4% on Thursday and settled at 24.06 as stocks bounced off of session lows to finish down only modestly.
- U.S. Dollar (/DX) – The dollar is slightly higher premarket, around 99.1.
Biggest Premarket Movers (as of 7 AM ET - Mark % Change)
- FedEx (FDX): +6.99%
- Dell Technologies (DELL): +3.35%
- CRH Public (CRH): +1.25%
- Hewlett Packard (HPE): +1.08%
- ONEOK (OKE): +1.03%
- Super Micro Computer (SMCI): -26.63%
- Mosaic (MOS): -1.45%
- SanDisk (SNDK): -1.42%
- Carvana (CVNA): -1.25%
- Western Digital (WDC): -1.24%
Economic Data
- Triple Witching Expiration
- 10:00 AM ET: Baker-Hughes Rig Count:
- Saturday, 10:30 AM ET: Fed’s Powell Speaks
Notable Earnings
- Premarket: XPEV
- Postmarket: None
- Premarket Monday: WRD
- Postmarket Monday: None
Upgrades/Downgrades
- HSBC double upgrades Arm (ARM) to Buy from Reduce
- Mizuho upgrades Chipotle (CMG) to Outperform from Neutral
- HSBC upgrades Chevron (CVX) to Buy from Hold
- BofA downgrades Mosaic (MOS) to Neutral from Buy
- Wells Fargo downgrades O-I Glass (OI) to Equal Weight from Overweight
- Wells Fargo downgrades Amcor (AMCR) to Equal Weight from Overweight

