Wall Street futures fall as Middle East tensions rise; Boeing drops
US stock index futures dipped on Thursday as signs of rising tensions in the Middle East weighed on risk sentiment and investors sought more clarity on Washington's recent trade deals with China.
Shares of planemaker Boeing lost 7.6 per cent premarket after an Air India aircraft with more than 200 people crashed in India's western city of Ahmedabad, and aviation tracking site Flightradar24 said the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
Underscoring increased volatility in the Middle East, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday US personnel were being moved out of the region as it could be a "dangerous place" and the United States would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
This came just days ahead of a planned sixth round of nuclear talks between the two countries. A senior Iranian official said on Wednesday Tehran will strike US bases in the region if nuclear negotiations fail and conflict arises.
China on Thursday affirmed a trade deal with the US, strengthening a delicate truce in the trade war that has roiled global markets for much of the year.
"Now that a consensus has been reached, both sides should abide by it," Lin Jian, a foreign ministry spokesperson for China, said at a regular news conference.
Traders also looked to gain more details on the trade framework discussed by officials from both sides at a two-day talk in London earlier this week.
At 06:48 am ET, Dow E-minis were down 269 points, or 0.63 per cent, S&P 500 E-minis were down 25.5 points, or 0.42 per cent, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 74 points, or 0.34 per cent.
Tesla shares lost 1.7 per cent and Nvidia declined about 1.1 per cent.
Among other movers, Oracle shares rose 7.7 per cent after the cloud service provider raised its annual revenue growth forecast citing increased demand from companies deploying artificial intelligence.
US-listed shares of gold miners also advanced, as bullion prices hit a one-week high.
Newmont gained 1.5 per cent, Harmony Gold was up 3.5 per cent and AngloGold Ashanti rose 4.2 per cent.
Shares of Oklo fell 5.8 per cent after the nuclear technology firm backed by Sam Altman launched a $400 million stock offering.
After a tame inflation report on Wednesday that provided investors with some reprieve, focus will now be on the May Producer Price Index data, which is due at 8:30 am ET, along with initial jobless claims data.
"May could be too soon to see the impact of tariffs, but softer demand may also be limiting pass through. We pencil in larger tariff effects starting later in the summer," said Citigroup strategists in a client note.
With investor bets increasing on Trump reaching favourable trade agreements with several trading partners in the coming weeks, the benchmark S&P 500 index is trading 2 per cent below its record high touched in February. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is about 2.7 per cent from record levels hit in December. — Reuters
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Observer
3 hours ago
- Observer
Iran says Israel attack 'declaration of war'
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Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the "precise targeting of senior commanders... sends a strong and clear message: those who work towards Israel's destruction will be eliminated". A Muslim worshipper reacts as she prays with other Iranian pilgrims visiting the Imam Ali Shrine in Iraq's central holy shrine city of Najaf on Friday, in the wake of Israel's strikes on Iran earlier in the day. — AFP SCATHING RESPONSE Tehran's streets were deserted except for queues at petrol stations, a familiar sight in times of crisis. "How much longer are we going to live in fear?" asked Ahmad Moadi, a 62-year-old retiree. "As an Iranian, I believe there must be an overwhelming response, a scathing response." Air traffic was halted at Tehran's main gateway, Imam Khomeini International Airport, while Iraq, Jordan and Syria closed their airspace. Israel declared a state of emergency as anxieties grew amidst a wave of uncertainty gripped the region. "I'm worried for my children and also about my livelihood, because this affects the market. You can't work, you can't do anything," Tel Aviv resident Vered Saar said. Oil prices surged while stocks sank on the Israeli strikes, which came after Trump's warning of a "massive conflict" in the region. Trump had also said the United States was drawing down staff in the Middle East, after Iran had threatened to target US military bases in the region if conflict broke out. Prior to the strikes, Trump said he believed a deal on Iran's nuclear programme was "fairly close", cautioning however that an Israeli attack on its arch foe could wreck the chances of an agreement. People attend an anti-Israeli protest following the Israeli strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, on Friday. — Reuters WITHIN REACH With the violence raising questions on whether a sixth round of talks planned between the US and Iran would still take place on Sunday in Oman, Trump said Washington was "hoping to get back to the negotiating table". Confirming Natanz had been among Israel's targets, the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said it was "closely monitoring" the situation as the Israeli military said it hit the underground uranium enrichment centrifuges at the site. "Most of the damage is on the surface level," said the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation's spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi. Israel sees Iran as an existential threat and Netanyahu has vowed less restraint since the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack by Tehran-backed Hamas, which triggered the war in Gaza. 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3 hours ago
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Top Iranian generals killed in Israeli attack
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