US stock futures barely budged on Thursday morning as investors absorbed a series of earnings reports, prospects of an imminent Strait of Hormuz deal, and fresh labor market data, with the Dow (^DJI) trading at a record high.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) rose 0.2% after the blue-chip index extended its record-breaking win streak. Futures on the S&P 500 (ES=F) also gained 0.1%, while contracts for the Nasdaq-100 (NQ=F) slipped 0.6%.
Investors remain hyper-focused on AI capital requirements and monetization. Those concerns, combined with high valuations for some tech names, have led to punishing earnings reactions for some AI highfliers such as AMD (AMD), Sandisk (SNDK), and Western Digital (WDC).
SpaceX (SPCX) stock remains near all-time lows. The Elon Musk-led company faces its next test on Thursday as a lockup period expires, potentially putting pressure on the stock should insiders sell their shares. Nvidia (NVDA) stock rose over 3% on Wednesday after SpaceX said it would exclusively use Nvidia chips.
Geopolitical uncertainty continues to hang over markets, helping to send gold prices (GC=F) to multiweek highs. Global oil prices (BZ=F), which have fluctuated in recent days, steadied near $80 per barrel on Thursday after Iran said it had reached an agreement with Oman for a temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the two nations would reach a deal “if certain third parties do not obstruct this process.”
A Challenger, Gray & Christmas report on Thursday showed July layoffs plunged to their lowest level in two years. That data and initial jobless claims later on Thursday set the stage for Friday’s July employment report.