US stock market futures pointed to a higher opening on Thursday, 30 April, supported by upbeat earnings from select technology giants, although strengthening crude oil prices and rising tensions in West Asia kept investor sentiment cautious.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 rose about 0.7%, while Nasdaq Composite futures climbed 0.2% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced roughly 334 points, or 0.2%.
Hopes of a potential long-term peace deal between Iran and the U.S. have faded after Axios reported that US President Donald Trump was scheduled to receive a briefing on fresh plans for possible military action against Iran.
According to the report, US officials have prepared a proposal for a “short and powerful” round of strikes on Iran, which could include attacks on key energy infrastructure.
The development has further eroded hopes of a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, where the flow of oil and other critical supplies has remained severely disrupted for more than two months.
Trump told Axios earlier this week that he would not remove the naval blockade on Iranian ports until the Islamic Republic agrees to a nuclear deal that addresses the White House’s core concerns.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s policymaking Federal Open Market Committee left benchmark interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and, for now, made no change to its forward guidance on the future path of rates.
Even though the war-related escalation with Iran has been pushing up oil prices and, in turn, fuelling gasoline and broader inflation concerns, the FOMC continued to signal that its next policy move is still more likely to be a rate cut at some point rather than a hike.
Brent crude extends winning streak to nine sessions
Brent crude futures for June delivery advanced more than 3% to $121.09 a barrel after hitting an intraday high of $126.41 earlier on Thursday, its highest level since 2022, and remained on track for a ninth straight session of gains. Oil prices have now surged more than 100% this year.
The US has continued its blockade of Iranian ports while the Strait of Hormuz is closed, pushing oil prices higher.
Stocks in focus today
Vested Finance said stocks steadied as investors digested a fresh wave of earnings from Big Tech, even as oil volatility kept market nerves on edge. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 edged higher, helped by a strong showing from Alphabet, which jumped over 7% in premarket trade after beating expectations. Amazon also moved higher on solid quarterly results.
However, not everything went right, Vested Finance noted. Microsoft slipped after its cloud growth disappointed lofty expectations, while Meta Platforms fell as investors questioned whether its aggressive AI spending is running ahead of returns, Vested Finance said.
Rising oil prices are feeding inflation fears, while at the same time earnings — especially from technology companies — are still coming in strong. As a result, markets are effectively being pulled in two opposite directions, it added.
On one side, AI is delivering a growth story investors want to believe in. On the other, geopolitics is creating an inflation problem nobody can ignore.
It further noted that the Federal Reserve did little to simplify the outlook. While rates were left unchanged, policymakers appeared divided, prompting markets to dial back expectations of interest rate cuts anytime soon.
The brokerage said markets are holding up, but only just, because for now earnings are doing the heavy lifting. Unless oil prices cool meaningfully, Vested Finance warned, even strong corporate results may not be enough to keep the rally going.
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