US stocks drifted higher on Friday as oil prices swung, with investors weighing the likelihood of direct US military involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict after President Trump set a deadline for a decision.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose roughly 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) nudged up 0.4%. Markets were closed on Thursday in observance of Juneteenth, offering investors a brief pause as global headlines grew more volatile.
Trump has introduced a self-imposed two-week time limit on deciding whether to enter the Middle East conflict, via a message relayed on Thursday by the White House press secretary. While the move added another layer of uncertainty to an already cautious market, it also opened a window for diplomacy to persuade Iran to negotiate — an idea its president rejected strongly on Friday.
Eyes are now on European efforts to get Iran back to the table and avert further escalation in tensions. Foreign ministers from France, the UK, and Germany are holding talks in Geneva with their Iranian counterpart.
Stocks have struggled since the attacks began Friday past, putting the Dow (^DJI) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) on track to end the week with losses. But the S&P 500 (^GSPC) is headed for a gain.
Oil prices swung back and forth as the conflict entered its second week. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) and Brent crude (BZ=F) have both risen sharply since the start of the conflict as traders price in supply disruption risk should Iran block the Strait of Hormuz, a bottleneck for one-fifth of the world’s oil trade.
Meanwhile, Wall Street continues to digest comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after the central bank left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, leading to a fresh attack from Trump. Powell reiterated that policymakers are not rushing to ease, saying rate decisions will remain “data-dependent.” A majority of traders, according to CME Group, expect a rate cut by September’s meeting.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
Investors will turn their attention to fresh economic data Friday morning, including the Philadelphia Fed’s June manufacturing index and the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Indicators for May.
LIVE 11 updates
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Stocks rise amid growing hopes for diplomacy in Middle East
US stocks rose on Friday as investors viewed President Trump’s two-week deadline for a decision on whether the US will directly get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict, as a positive move.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.3% while the broad-based S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained roughly 0.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.4%.
Oil prices fell after the White House said Trump would make his decision within two weeks, leaving open room for diplomacy. Still, crude futures were on pace for a third week of gains.
Dovish comments also sent stocks higher after Fed governor Chris Waller on CNBC’s Squawk Box, suggested that the Federal Reserve could move to lower interest rates in July. Waller argued that any inflation from tariffs may be short-lived.
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Stock futures move higher after Waller says the Fed should consider July rate cuts
US stock futures edged higher ahead of the opening bell, with contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) and S&P 500 (ES=F) rising roughly 0.3%, and those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) adding 0.4%.
The move higher followed dovish comments from Fed governor Chris Waller on CNBC’s Squawk Box, suggesting that the Federal Reserve could move to lower interest rates in July. Waller argued that any inflation from tariffs may be short-lived.
“Any tariff inflation … I don’t think is going to be that big, and we should just look through it in terms of setting policy,” Waller said. “The data the last few months has been showing that trend inflation is looking pretty good … We could do this as early as July.”
Read more here.
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Kroger raises sales forecast, backs profit outlook amid ‘uncertain’ economic backdrop
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The Fed is also in ‘wait and see’ mode about AI taking jobs
A recent memo from Amazon (AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy revived concerns about the scope of change to the labor market from artificial intelligence.
While employers see growth and productivity, employees are worried about massive displacement in their jobs. And now, it’s something the Federal Reserve is watching closely too:
Hamza Shaban writes in today’s Morning Brief:
Read more here.
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Accenture stock slides on weaker-than-expected bookings
Accenture (ACN) stock is down more than 4% after the global consultancy company reported new bookings decreased 6% to $19.7 billion in the quarter.
Earnings topped estimates, with revenue coming in at $17.7 billion for the quarter, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $17.30 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Reuters reports:
Read more here.
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CarMax stock jumps on solid earnings beat
CarMax (KMX) stock climbed 11% in premarket trading after the used car dealer’s first quarter earnings and revenue beat Wall Street expectations.
CarMax sold 379,727 cars in the first quarter, a 5.8% increase from the same period last year.
The company also reported earnings per share of $1.38, and revenue rose 6.1% to $7.55 billion, topping estimates.
CarMax CEO Bill Nash said that its omnichannel buying and selling experience “is a key differentiator in a very large and fragmented market that positions us to continue to drive sales, gain market share, and deliver significant year-over-year earnings growth for years to come.”
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$6.5 trillion ‘triple witching’ spells more volatility for stocks
Bloomberg reports:
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Trending tickers: Tesla, Wolfspeed and GMS
Here are some top stocks trending on Yahoo Finance in premarket trading:
Tesla (TSLA) stock rose over 1% before the bell following reports that the EV maker had signed a $557 million energy storage station deal. This deal was announced two days before Elon Musk’s expected launch of its robotaxi.
Semiconductor maker, Wolfspeed’s (WOLF) stock fell 4% premarket after reports emerged on Thursday it would be taken over by creditors inculding Apollo Global Management. The chipmaker has been struggling recently and the new proposal would put them into bankruptcy.
GMS (GMS) stock was up 23% after the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Home Depot (HD) the home-improvement giant, has made an offer to acquire GMS, a building-products distribution company, citing people familiar with the matter. The WSJ did not specify a price.
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Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
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China warning on toys like Labubu sends Pop Mart stock sliding
Shares of Pop Mart (9992.HK, PMRTY) slid in Hong Kong after a call for stricter regulation of blind-box and trading cards in Chinese state media.
That fueled concerns about prospects for the maker of furry Labubu elf dolls, whose explosive popularity has helped lift Beijing-based Pop Mart’s market cap to around $40 billion — twice that of Hasbro (HAS) and Mattel (MAT) combined.
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
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Oil prices on track for third week of consecutive gains
Oil prices look set to end this week with gains for the third consecutive week in a row. Extreme tensions in the Middle East have put consistent upwards pressure on the commodity, with the recent eruption into outright violence leaving investors looking at supply chains and production facilities with concern.
Reuters reports: `
Read more here.
