Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Dip On Trump’s Prolonged Iran Conflict Signals: Why TSLA, NVDA, XOM, GSAT, LUNR Are Trending Premarket

• President Donald Trump’s comments on Iran signaled a longer conflict timeline, dashing ceasefire hopes.
• In a prime-time address, Trump said “the hard part is done” but warned of intensified strikes and potential targeting of critical infrastructure in the coming weeks
• Crude oil surged past $108, while retail sentiment remained deeply bearish across major equity ETFs.
   

U.S. stock futures took a hard knock early Thursday morning, erasing the optimism from the previous session, after a prime-time address from President Trump dashed hopes for an immediate ceasefire in Iran.

While Trump said that the “hard part is done,” his warning of intensified strikes and potential targeting of electric plants over the next two to three weeks sent shockwaves through equity and commodity markets, pushing Brent crude toward $108/barrel. 

As of 4:10 a.m. ET on Thursday, Dow futures fell nearly 1%, S&P 500 futures declined 1.1%, Nasdaq futures were down 1.3%, and Russell 2000 futures slumped 1.5%.

Retail sentiment toward the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index, has been languishing at ‘extremely bearish’ amid high trading volume. 

Trending Stocks To Watch

Tesla (TSLA): All eyes are on Q1 delivery numbers today. 

Crude oil surged over 7% after Trump’s address on Iran late last night. Watch out for oil-related stocks (USO, BATL, EONR, XOM, CVX, TPET) in trade today. 

Tech Under Threat: This week, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard issued direct threats against 18 U.S. tech giants, including NVDA, AAPL, MSFT, GOOG, and INTC citing their Middle Eastern operations as "legitimate targets" for retaliation. In a Telegram post, the Guard has reportedly said that attacks on these companies would begin from 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, Tehran time (12:30 p.m. EDT), the Guard said in a post on Telegram translated by Google, warning employees at those companies to leave workplaces immediately to protect their lives.

Steel & Aluminum: The White House is set to simplify tariffs to a flat 25% on finished products. Watch out for ArcelorMittal (MT), Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF), Nucor (NUE), Alcoa (AA), and Century Aluminum (CENX), as this move replaces a 50% duty on raw metal. Today also marks one year since President Donald Trump declared that his “Liberation Day” tariffs.

Globalstar (GSAT): Shares of Iridium (IRDM) and Viasat (VSAT) rose following a Financial Times report that Amazon (AMZN) is in talks to acquire satellite group Globalstar for $9 billion to bolster its space-based internet ambitions.

Intuitive Machines (LUNR): Trending lower this morning as the company filed to sell 34.57 million shares of Class A common stock for existing holders, amid the successful Artemis 2 crewed lunar launch on Wednesday.

Estee Lauder (EL): Announced it will record up to $1.6 billion in restructuring charges as it overhauls operations through 2026.

Biotech stocks: Beam Therapeutics (BEAM) is gaining attention after publishing promising sickle cell therapy data in The New England Journal of Medicine. Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) is drawing takeover chatter as Big Pharma hunts the next GLP-1 winner.

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Strategy (MSTR), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Trump Media (DJT) and Palantir (PLTR). 

Other Catalysts To Watch

On the economic front, traders will be watching for the release of initial jobless claims and trade deficit data later today.

On earnings radar, watch out for quarterly reports from Acuity Brands (AYI), AngioDynamics (ANGO), and Lindsay Corp (LNN) before the bell. Meanwhile, Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) reports earnings after market close, among others.

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