U.S. stock futures faltered on Thursday as investors cautiously eyed reports on a hardening Iranian stance on peace talks and parsed through fresh earnings from AI chip giant Nvidia.
By 06:46 ET (10:46 GMT), Dow futures fell 156 points (0.3%), S&P 500 futures dipped 31 points (0.4%), and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 161 points (0.6%). The contracts had hovered near the flatline before the bell.
Pressure came from a renewed climb in U.S. government bond yields, reflecting concerns that a war-fueled energy shock could spike inflation and prompt central banks to raise rates. Brent crude futures bounced, keeping oil above $105 a barrel.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has ordered that the country's near weapons-grade uranium not be shipped abroad, Reuters reported. President Trump has assured Israel that Iran's enriched uranium would leave the country under any peace deal.
A fragile ceasefire has been in place since late February, but talks have stalled. Trump said the U.S. is in the final stages of a peace agreement, but warned of escalation if no deal is reached. Iran said it is reviewing Washington's proposal but is ready for more strikes.
Investors are watching for signs of a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Nvidia's April-quarter sales surged 85% to $81.6 billion, beating estimates. Net income was $58.3 billion. CEO Jensen Huang hailed the era of agentic AI. Despite this, Nvidia shares were muted in premarket trading.
OpenAI is reportedly planning an IPO in September, while SpaceX filed for a record IPO. Intuit shares fell 14% after cutting its forecast. Walmart also fell despite beating quarterly estimates.
