US stock futures traded higher on Thursday, led by a rebound in semiconductor shares, even as investors monitored escalating tensions between the US and Iran and the potential impact on global oil supplies.
Real-time data showed E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures rising 0.59% to 29,641.25, while E-mini S&P 500 futures gained 0.13% to 7,538.50. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were little changed after the blue-chip index tumbled more than 1% in the previous session.
Semiconductor stocks outperformed in premarket trade. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF advanced about 2.1%, with Micron Technology climbing 3.4% and SanDisk Corp. adding 2.4%, extending the sector's resilience despite heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
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The gains came after Wall Street ended mixed on Wednesday. The Dow posted sharp losses, the S&P 500 edged lower, while strength in chipmakers helped the Nasdaq close in positive territory.
Markets remained cautious after the US Central Command said American forces carried out fresh strikes on Iran in response to Tehran's attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices, however, were relatively steady after US President Donald Trump said he had spoken with Iran in an effort to revive negotiations. The remarks marked another shift in tone after Trump said a day earlier that he was no longer interested in talks and declared the ceasefire with Tehran was "over" following renewed attacks in the region.
European equities were also modestly higher, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index up 0.1%. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.4%, South Korea's Kospi rose 0.62%, China's CSI 300 advanced 2.5%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.5%.
"Any assumption of a swift return to normalized Persian Gulf exports is certainly being challenged," Mason Mendez, Global Real Assets Analyst at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said.
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"Given the reduced supply buffer of already low global reserves and inventories, any further escalations are likely to re-enforce a higher geopolitical risk premium in oil prices — even when negotiations eventually resume," Mendez added.
Despite the geopolitical risks, Mendez maintained a constructive view on US equities.
"These renewed geopolitical risks could fuel near-term risk-off sentiment, however, trends of strong equity earnings momentum and ongoing AI strengths will likely continue to drive the S&P 500 Index towards our year-end target range of 7,800 to 8,000," he said.
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