Nasdaq Futures Fall 1.7% as Iran Claims Strikes on Seven Ships
Wall Street futures point to a sharply lower open. As of 7:16 a.m. ET (2:16 p.m. in Istanbul), Nasdaq 100 futures were down 1.7%, S&P 500 futures 1.1% and Dow futures 0.7%. Two forces are at work: earnings from Meta and Tesla failed to lift futures, and oil rose on a new Iranian attack claim.
The new development is in the Persian Gulf: Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy said seven vessels were hit on Wednesday. According to Reuters, four were allegedly carrying out illegal oil transfers in the northern Persian Gulf, and three struck mines west of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran warned the US of a wider response against its regional bases; the claims have not been independently verified.
Brent rose 2.6% to $111.60 as of 07:41 UTC, after settling at $108.82 on Wednesday. Yields followed oil higher: the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 5.15%, from a Wednesday close of 5.12%. The market did not read this morning's drop as an earnings story alone.
The sharpest earnings reactions are in chips and tech. Lam Research reported record revenue of $8.22B but said supply constraints will push some December shipments into March; the stock is down 8.4% premarket. IBM earned $2.95 per share against a $2.89 estimate on revenue of $17.1B; the shares are down 5.7%.
