Nasdaq set to gain as chips in favor again, as oil rebounds
US stock futures pointed to another mixed Wall Street session on Thursday, as investors weighed fresh developments in the Middle East against signs that chip stocks could extend their recent rally.
Dow Jones futures were down 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.8%.
This comes a day after the Dow fell 577 points or 1.1%, the S&P declined or 0.3% to 7,483, while the Nasdaq gained 0.2% to finish at 25,871.
Asian and European markets traded mostly higher in the early hours, with London's FTSE an exception as it was hit by a large fall for AstraZeneca on the back of a failed drug trial.
Oil prices remained volatile, as more strikes and words were exchanged between the US and Iran.
WTI crude, which topped $75 a barrel on Wednesday, briefly dropped below $72 before recovering to around $74.
The latest moves came as the US said it had struck another 90 Iranian targets, taking the total to 170 over the past 48 hours, while Iran launched retaliatory attacks on US military sites in Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait.
President Trump was reported as saying Iran had been in touch with the US and "want to make a deal", although he questioned whether Tehran would honour any agreement.
The White House was reported by Axios to be preparing for the possibility of fighting around the Strait of Hormuz lasting days or even weeks.
Kathleen Brooks at XTB said markets were "normalizing to the latest flare up of tensions in the Middle East".
"Although the events of recent days are another sign that the path to a long-term peace will have many twists and turns, the market seems well placed to absorb the current tensions," Brooks added.
She noted that despite the angst about the Iran war, there was a rotation out of broader tech stocks and back into chip stocks.
"Ahead today, we could see a continued rally in chip stocks. SanDisk and Nvidia are pointing to further gains today, while the hyperscalers like Microsoft and Alphabet are declining in the pre-market, suggesting that the rotation within the AI trade continues," she said.
In economic data, initial jobless claims and existing home sales are scheduled.