U.S. stock futures pointed higher Thursday morning as chip stocks recovered from recent losses and oil prices eased, even as U.S. forces carried out another round of strikes against Iran overnight.
But Oracle stock fell more than 9% after the company said it would seek $20 billion in new equity and debt financing to support its AI expansion
Spencer Platt / Getty Images
U.S. stock futures pointed higher Thursday morning as chip stocks recovered from recent losses and oil prices eased, even as U.S. forces carried out another round of strikes against Iran overnight.
Among the major futures contracts, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 378 points, or 0.75%, while S&P 500 futures climbed 0.72% and Nasdaq $NDAQ 100 futures were ahead by 1.2%. West Texas Intermediate crude futures shed about 1% to trade around $89 a barrel, pulling back from overnight highs.
The iShares Semiconductor ETF was up 3% before the open, with Micron $MU, AMD $AMD, and Intel $INTC all posting premarket gains. That marked a partial recovery after the ETF shed 10% on Friday, a drop that had prompted widespread debate about whether the sector had reached its ceiling. Adding to the positive tone, Bank of America $BAC lifted its rating on Intel to buy from underperform, according to CNBC, a move that sent the chipmaker's shares up 4% before Thursday's open
Friday's anticipated SpaceX IPO has also factored into the chip sector's recovery. At a projected valuation of $1.8 trillion, the offering would set a record as the biggest IPO ever. A theory circulating among traders holds that recent weakness in semiconductor names reflected portfolio rebalancing by investors freeing up cash ahead of the listing.
Not all technology names participated in the rebound: Oracle $ORCL fell more than 9% before the bell after the company said it would seek $20 billion in new equity and debt financing to support its artificial intelligence expansion. The spending plans weighed on Oracle stock even as other AI-related names recovered.
A post by U.S. Central Command on X $TWTR said President Donald Trump had ordered a fresh wave of "self-defense strikes" against Iran late Wednesday. Despite the escalation, Treasury yields and oil prices retreated, suggesting investors were looking past the geopolitical tensions, according to The Wall Street Journal.
All three major indexes finished Wednesday's session deep in the red, with the Nasdaq Composite off 1.98%, the S&P 500 down 1.62%, and the Dow closing out a loss of 953.33 points, or 1.87%.
Speaking on CNBC's "Closing Bell" Wednesday, Crossmark Global Investments' chief market strategist Victoria Fernandez described a shift in how clients are positioning themselves, with money moving away from technology and toward areas that would benefit if the AI-driven rally loses steam. "We're seeing that rotation out of tech into some things that have been beaten down a little bit over the past months," she said.
The Labor Department's May producer price index is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
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