Stock futures inch higher after oil prices decline as Trump delays Iran strike decision: Live updates
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on April 2, 2025.
NYSE
Stock futures were higher on Friday, with investors monitoring conflict in the Middle East between Iran and Israel, and potential direct U.S. involvement.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 77 points, or 0.2%. Nasdaq 100 futures ticked up 0.2%, along with S&P 500 futures. U.S. markets were closed Thursday for the Juneteenth holiday.
International benchmark Brent slid about 2% Friday, while U.S. crude gained more than 1%. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly ordering Jerusalem's military to strike "strategic targets" in Iran, as well as "government targets."
Investors remain jittery as the conflict between Israel and Iran has yet to cool. President Donald Trump is weighing direct U.S. involvement with a strike on Tehran, with the White House on Thursday saying that he will make a final decision within the next two weeks. Trump previously called for Tehran's complete surrender, to which Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, labeled the notion "threatening and ridiculous."
"There are several key questions to answer before we know how stocks will handle this geopolitical shock, including how much of Iran's energy infrastructure will be impaired and for how long, whether Iran's nuclear capabilities will be completely wiped out, and whether the current regime will remain in power," said Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist for LPL Financial.
The still-simmering tension in the Middle East comes as investors also weighed comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday, following the central banks decision to hold interest rates steady. Stocks closed lower following Powell's comments, which essentially said that the Fed is in no hurry to cut benchmark rates and will remain data dependent, especially as it remains unclear how Trump's tariffs will impact the economy.
Trump ripped into Powell again Thursday, saying the Fed Chair is costing the U.S. "hundreds of billions of dollars" by delaying rate cuts.
For the week, the S&P 500 is up marginally with a gain of 0.07%. The 30-stock Dow has lost 0.06%, while the Nasdaq has advanced about 1%.
Tesla shares were higher Friday just two days before the electric vehicle maker's expected launch of its robotaxi service in in Austin, Texas. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a Friday note that he believes Tesla's market cap could reach $2 trillion by the end of 2026 as a result of the rise of autonomous vehicles.
On the economic front, investors will monitor the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing survey on Friday morning, followed by the Conference Board's leading economic indicators reading for May.
UK retail sales tumbled in May
Retail sales in the United Kingdom saw an unexpectedly large decline in May, the Office for National Statistics said Friday.
The government office said sales volumes declined 2.7%, while economists had expected a dip of just 0.5%, according to Reuters.
The decline was the biggest since December 2023 and came on the heels of a 1.3% rise in April.
The FTSE 100 was higher on the day despite the worse-than-expected data.
— Jesse Pound
CarMax jumps following earnings beat
CarMax shares surged about 10% in the premarket Friday after its first-quarter results topped Wall Street's expectations.
The used car retailer earned $1.38 per share for the quarter, coming in above the $1.16 per share that analysts surveyed by LSEG were looking for. The company's revenue of $7.55 billion also beat the consensus estimate of $7.52 billion.
KMX, 1-day
— Sean Conlon
Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed after China keeps benchmark rates steady
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Friday after China kept benchmark rates steady, while investors monitored escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump is now weighing whether to back the Israeli military and strike Tehran. The White House said that he will make a final decision within the next two weeks.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the day 1.26% higher at 23,530, while the CSI 300 index closed flat at 3,846.64, after the People's Bank of China at 3.0% for the 1-year loan prime rate and 3.5% for the 5-year LPR.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 closed 0.22% lower at 38,403.23 while the broader Topix index fell 0.75% in choppy trade to 2,771.26
The country's core inflation rate climbed to 3.7% in May, its highest level since January 2023. The metric — which strips out costs for fresh food — was higher than the 3.6% expected by economists polled by Reuters and is above April's print of 3.5%.
In South Korea, the Kospi index increased by 1.48% to end the day at 3,021.84, it's highest in over 42 months, after crossing the 3,000 mark for the first time in 42 months, earlier in the session. Meanwhile, the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 1.15% to 791.53
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 ended the day down 0.21%, paring losses to close at 8,505.50.
India's benchmark Nifty 50 advanced 1.05% while the BSE Sensex gained 1.13% as of 1.40 p.m. Indian Standard Time.
— Amala Balakrishner
Trump slams Fed Chair Powell as 'destructive'
President Donald Trump added to his criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday, after the central bank kept benchmark interest rates unchanged a day earlier.
Trump labeled Powell as "destructive" in a Truth Social post on Thursday, and also said the central bank chair is costing the United States "hundreds of billions of dollars" by leaving rates steady.
— Brian Evans
Stock futures slip on Thursday
Stock futures were lower on Thursday, as investors continue to keep a close eye on tensions in the Middle East.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 201 points, or 0.04%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.5%. S&P 500 futures pulled back 0.4%
— Brian Evans
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