
U.S./Iran Talks, AI Disruption Dominate Markets
U.S. stock futures are slightly lower in premarket trading as Wall Street struggles to regain its footing after yet another losing week. The benchmark S&P 500 (SPX) fell 1.4% last week as tech continues to weigh on the overall market.
The S&P 500 is coming off its second consecutive losing week as fears about AI’s disruption hit industries such as software, real estate, trucking and financial services.
Those concerns appeared to overshadow the latest consumer price index reading released Friday with the headline CPI data softer than expected at 2.4% year over year. Investors will get more insight into the path of inflation this week, with the personal consumption expenditure report slated for Friday.
Traders will also be watching earnings with results due from Palo Alto (PANW), DoorDash (DASH) and Walmart (WMT) this week.
Snapshot (as of 7 AM ET)
- Oil (/CL) – Oil prices are up 1.3% near $63.70 a barrel as investors assessed risks of supply disruption after Iran conducted naval drills near the Strait of Hormuz right ahead of nuclear talks with the U.S. later in the day. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would be involved “indirectly” in the talks in Switzerland, adding he believes Tehran wants to make a nuclear deal.
- Gold (/GC) – Gold prices are down about 1.8% near $4,950 and fell to a more than one-week low, pressured by a stronger dollar as investors tracked cues on geopolitics and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.
- Bitcoin (/BTC) – The Crypto Future is down 0.7% near 68,300 in premarket trading.
- VIX – The CBOE Volatility Index was down 1% on Friday and settled at 20.60 as stocks were relatively flat.
- U.S. Dollar (/DX) – The dollar is up 0.4% to 97.2.
Biggest Premarket Movers (as of 7 AM ET - Mark % Change)
- Norwegian Cruise (NCLH): +7.72%
- Labcorp Holdings (LH): +2.78%
- Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD): +2.75%
- Paramount Skydance (PSKY): +1.94%
- Albemarle (ALB): +1.44%
- Vulcan Materials (VMC): -6.94%
- Danaher (DHR): -6.86%
- Genuine Parts (GPC): -5.54%
- General Mills (GIS): -3.39%
- Medtronic (MDT): -3.05%
Economic Data
- 8:30 AM ET: Retail Sales - Delayed, Empire State Mfg. Index
- 10:00 AM ET: Housing Market Index, Business Inventories - Delayed
- 12:45 PM ET: Fed’s Barr Speaks
- 2:30 PM ET: Fed’s Daly Speaks
Notable Earnings
- Premarket: BLDR, CNH, DTE, ET, FLR, GPC, HRI, LH, LDOS, MDT, SUN, VMI, VMC, WSO
- Postmarket: CDNS, CZR, CE, DVN, EQT, EXE, FE, HL, HUN, KVUE, LZB, PANW, RSG, TOL
- Premarket Tomorrow: ADI, BLCO, CRL, CNK, CLH, DAN, GRMN, GPN, IMO, PODD, JLL, MCO, SEDG, SAH, TX, TNL, WING
- Postmarket Tomorrow: AWK, CAR, BHC, BKNG, CVNA, CF, CAKE, DASH, EBAY, EQX, FIG, HLF, HST, INVH, JACK, KGC, TAP, NDSN, NTR, OXY, OMC, RS, WH
Upgrades/Downgrades
- Freedom Capital upgrades Visa (V) to Buy from Hold
- Rothschild & Co. Redburn upgrades Dollar Tree (DLTR) to Buy from Neutral
- UBS upgrades Southwest Airlines (LUV) to Buy from Neutral
- Rothschild & Co. Redburn downgrades Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to Neutral from Buy
- Rothschild & Co. Redburn downgrades Dollar General (DG) to Sell from Neutral
- Roth Capital downgrades ConocoPhillips (COP) to Neutral from Buy

