U.S. stock futures inched higher in early trading on Friday as oil prices retreated after President Trump on Thursday seemed to open the door to more diplomacy in the Middle East.
Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2% Friday morning, as were S&P 500 futures. Nasdaq 100 contracts traded about 0.3% higher before markets opened. Stocks were little changed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady amid elevated economic uncertainty. U.S. markets were closed in observance of the Juneteenth holiday on Thursday.
President Trump on Thursday said he would take two weeks to decide whether to join Israel in military action against Iran. The deferral appeared to be a pivot for the president, whose rhetoric in recent days suggested he was considering assisting Israel in its efforts to neutralize Iran’s nuclear program by force.
Markets have been contending with geopolitical risk and the possibility of an inflationary oil supply shock since Israel bombed Iranian nuclear and military targets last Friday. Oil prices spiked last week and were trading at their highest level since January in non-U.S. markets on Thursday. Crude prices slid about 3% on Friday amid optimism the U.S. may push for Israel and Iran to negotiate.
In corporate news, shares of Accenture (ACN) dropped about 4% in premarket trading after the professional services firm’s quarterly bookings fell short of Wall Street estimates. Home Depot (HD) stock ticked slightly lower after the Wall Street Journal reported the company had made an offer to acquire building products distributor GMS (GMS), shares of which jumped about 30%.
Shares of stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) were up more than 16% in early trading. The stock has soared since debuting early this month, boosted by the GENIUS Act’s progress in Congress. Cryptocurrencies were broadly higher on Friday, with Bitcoin trading at about $106,000, up from $104,300 overnight.
Treasury yields advanced on Friday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects interest rates on all kinds of consumer loans, was recently up 4 basis points at 4.44%. The U.S. dollar index, which has slumped this year amid the uncertainty generated by President Trump’s tariffs, was about 0.3% lower.
U.S. Stock Futures Tick Higher
28 minutes ago
Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up about 0.2% in premarket trading on Friday.
S&P 500 futures were also about 0.2% higher.
Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.3%.