Nvidia's record quarterly results failed to lift sentiment as oil prices surged on reports that Iran's supreme leader ordered enriched uranium kept inside the country
Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images
U.S. stock futures fell Thursday morning as oil prices surged on a report that Iran's supreme leader had directed the country's enriched uranium not to be sent abroad, complicating ongoing U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations and pushing crude back above $100 a barrel.
Crude benchmarks moved sharply higher, with WTI adding 2.9% to reach $101.04 per barrel and Brent settling at $107.36, a gain of 2.3%. The move higher in oil came after Reuters, citing unnamed sources, reported the directive from Iran's supreme leader. The removal of Iran's enriched uranium is a core U.S. condition for ending the war.
Among equity index futures, the S&P 500 contract was off 0.4% and the Nasdaq $NDAQ 100 contract shed 0.6%, while Dow futures pointed to a 167-point, or 0.3%, opening loss. The 10-year Treasury yield added five basis points, rising to 4.615%.
Wednesday's session had told a different story: Stocks climbed and ended a three-session skid for the S&P 500 after Trump publicly described U.S.-Iran talks as entering their final phase.
Late Wednesday, Nvidia $NVDA reported record revenue of $81.6 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, up 85% from a year ago, as demand for its artificial intelligence chips continued to grow. The company also raised its quarterly dividend 25-fold and announced a new share repurchase authorization on Wednesday. But Nvidia stock struggled in premarket trading, extending a streak in which the stock has fallen following each of its last four earnings releases, according to MarketWatch.
"Some blamed the May-to-July outlook for not being strong enough. Others pointed to confusion around Nvidia's new reporting structure. But honestly, this looked more like simple profit-taking after an enormous rally than lack of conviction," Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, told MarketWatch.
The results did spark enthusiasm in Asian markets, where South Korean and Japanese stocks rose on renewed AI optimism. Reports that OpenAI — a company in which SoftBank holds a significant stake — could submit IPO paperwork within weeks sent SoftBank's Tokyo-listed shares sharply higher.
JPMorgan $JPM Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned Thursday that bond yields could climb well beyond current levels. "Bond rates can go up," Dimon said on Bloomberg Television. "The notion that somehow people say they will never go up is the wrong notion."
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