U.S. stock futures extended losses in early Friday trading as a sweeping semiconductor selloff and escalating Middle East conflict combined to crush investor risk appetite.
The U.S. military launched its sixth consecutive night of strikes on Iran, with Iranian retaliatory strikes hitting Qatar and pushing crude oil prices sharply higher.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson added to the cautious tone, signaling the FOMC could reconsider its current 3.5%-3.75% target range if inflation fails to cool.
Jefferson pointed to lingering price pressures from past tariffs and energy costs as key factors that could delay further policy easing in the months ahead.
As of 4:00 a.m. ET, Nasdaq futures fell 1.8%, S&P 500 futures dropped 0.9%, while Dow and Russell 2000 futures were each down 0.6%.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) moderated to “neutral” from “bullish” the prior day, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) held at “bullish” despite the index tracking toward its worst monthly performance since March.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) tumbled over 8% in premarket trade after the company issued soft guidance, though management maintained the long-term growth story remains intact despite near-term content timing and sporting event comparisons.
Nebius Group (NASDAQ: NBIS) continued to trend alongside other AI infrastructure names as investors rotated out of high-growth plays amid renewed concerns over capital spending and stretched valuations.
SpaceX (NYSE: SPCX) extended its post-IPO decline after the latest Starship launch was automatically aborted moments before liftoff due to engine issues.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) slid over 1% in premarket trade, with Tesla bull Gary Black noting that a collapsing SPCX valuation makes any speculative SpaceX-Tesla buyout math financially dilutive.
Trump Media and Technology Group (NASDAQ: DJT) fell over 2% in premarket trade following the launch of its “Truth API” data subscription service, designed to sell institutional Wall Street firms ultra-fast access to Donald Trump’s posts.
Sellas Life Sciences (NASDAQ: SLS) touched a July low ahead of an upcoming acute myeloid leukemia clinical trial readout, with bulls expecting “stellar” signals before a CEO media appearance scheduled for next week.
Oil stocks including USO, BATL, TPET, XOM, and CVX remained on retail radar as escalating geopolitical headlines continued to threaten global supply lines.
On the economic calendar, investors are tracking housing starts and import price index data at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by the preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index reading at 10:00 a.m. ET.
On the earnings front, Regions Financial Corp, Truist Financial Corporation, Travelers Companies Inc, Fifth Third Bancorp, Diginex, and U.S. Gold Corp are among those reporting results today.
