Aug 6 (Reuters) – S&P 500 and Dow futures were steady on Thursday after this week’s record-breaking rally as investors awaited details on a Middle East peace deal, while Nasdaq futures slipped as strong forecasts from Western Digital and SanDisk failed to impress.
Data storage company Western Digital lost 15% and memory chip maker Sandisk dropped 9% in premarket trading, after having shot up 200% and 400% this year. Both the companies forecast quarterly revenue above expectations, betting on strong AI-driven demand.
Shares of other chip stocks such as Micron shed 3.5%, while Advanced Micro Devices, Marvell Technology and Intel lost over 1% each.
Megacaps such as Meta and Amazon were marginally higher, while Alphabet was up about 0.7%, a day after dropping 4% on an announcement about a leadership overhaul of its AI division. Apple rose 0.8%.
SpaceX rose 1.5% ahead of the space conglomerate’s first post-IPO share lockup expiry. The broader AI-linked group of stocks showed signs of cooling from a rally.
Strong earnings from tech leaders this reporting season have restored investor confidence that AI investments were being monetized, which helped the benchmark S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow reclaim record highs earlier this week. The Nasdaq is about 3% away from an all-time high.
At 05:07 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 159 points, or 0.29%, and S&P 500 E-minis were up 8.25 points, or 0.11%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 155.25 points, or 0.52%.
Brent crude prices traded in a tight range near $80 a barrel as markets were keen on any signs of a deal between Iran and the U.S. A proposed deal between Iran and Oman would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Reuters.
The Federal Reserve has been keen on the outlook for energy costs, with most central bankers voicing that they were prepared to act if price pressures increase. St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem is expected to speak on monetary policy later in the day.
With Chairman Kevin Warsh staying mum on forward guidance, traders are struggling to gauge the central bank’s next policy move.
Probabilities for no change versus a rate hike in September are now closer to even, the CME FedWatch Tool showed. Last week, traders were pricing in a 37% chance for rates staying unchanged versus 63% for a rate increase.
A report at 8:30 a.m. ET is expected to show jobless claims in the week ended Aug. 1 stood at 202,000, up from 197,000 the week before. The greater focus will be on the official non-farm payrolls figures for July due on Friday.
Markets also await reports from ConocoPhilips, Molson Coors and Keurig Dr Pepper among others.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
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