Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Fall Ahead Of Jobless Claims Data: Why NVDA, META, DXYZ, IBRX, SLS Are Keeping Traders Engaged Today

• Investors weighed conflicting signals from Middle East diplomacy and braced for fresh labor market data.
• AI trade tensions and regulatory risks kept Nvidia and chip-linked names under pressure.
• U.S. President Trump will be holding a cabinet meeting at 10:00 am ET today. 

U.S. stock futures fell early Thursday as investors continued to parse the geopolitical developments in the Middle East. Amid conflicting reports, Iran is said to be reviewing a U.S. peace proposal delivered through Pakistan. Traders are also bracing for fresh macro signals with jobless claims data due later today.

U.S. President Trump will be holding a cabinet meeting at 10:00 am ET today. 

As of 4:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures fell 0.4%, and Russell 2000 futures were down 0.6%.

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

Nvidia (NVDA): The chipmaker remains in focus, with retail sentiment weakening to ‘bearish’ on Stocktwits. Calls are growing louder in Washington, with U.S. Senators Warren and Banks pushing to freeze export licenses over national security concerns.

Meta Inc (META): It has lost another lawsuit alleging they made misleading claims about platform safety, adding to its growing list of legal headwinds.

Destiny Tech100 (DXYZ): Garnering heavy retail interest as speculation around a potential SpaceX IPO grows this week.

Micron (MU), Sandisk (SNDK): Memory stocks took a hit after reports that Google’s new AI model architecture could bring a significant impact on memory requirements.

Super Micro (SMCI): The stock remained under pressure as shareholders filed a securities fraud lawsuit following recent allegations of chip smuggling.

ImmunityBio (IBRX): The retail favorite biotech stock is back on traders’ radar after the company highlighted progress in its bladder cancer program and expanded trials targeting severe pneumonia and ARDS. 

Sellas Life Sciences (SLS): This pharma stock is gaining ground amid retail-trader speculation that Pfizer (PFE) may target the firm for an acquisition.

urban-Gro (UGRO): The stock fell over 10% in early pre-market trading after surging over 400% in the previous session. Retail is bullish on the company’s new exposure to India’s fast-growing cricket economy following its merger with Flash Sports & Media.

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Adma Biologics (ADMA), Upstart Holdings (UPST), Moonlake Immunotherapeutics (MLTX), NextDecade Corporation (NEXT), and Alphabet Inc (GOOGL). 

Other Catalysts To Watch

On the economic front, traders will be watching for the release of continuing jobless claims data at 8:30 am ET. Also keep an eye on commentary from a whole host of Fed Governors’ speeches through the day, including Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr.

On earnings radar, watch out for quarterly reports from Pulmatrix (PULM), BioRestorative Therapies Inc (BRTX), and POET Technologies Inc (POET), among others, today. 

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