Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures In The Red Ahead Of Jobless Claims, INTC Earnings: Why TSLA, NOW, QS, PSKY, WBD Are In Focus

• Rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East kept oil prices elevated
• Tesla dropped amid concerns about heavy AI spending, while QuantumScape surged on upbeat earnings.
• Markets are eyeing key data and earnings from Intel, American Express, and Lockheed Martin, as well as a major vote involving Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance.

U.S. stock futures were under pressure early Thursday as investors digested a fresh wave of earnings amid the geopolitical instability in the Middle East. Even as peace talks failed to materialize, the Iranian Navy has reportedly seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz, keeping crude oil prices elevated. 

As of 4:00 a.m. ET on Thursday: Dow and Russell 2000 futures fell 0.6%, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures slipped 0.3%.

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 moderated mildly to ‘bullish’ from ‘extremely bullish’ territory a day ago.

Trending Stocks To Watch

Tesla (TSLA): Shares were down nearly 4% in early pre-market trading as concerns about free cash flow weighed on investor sentiment. In its earnings call, the company said that capital expenditures would exceed $25 billion to support AI and robotics infrastructure.

ServiceNow (NOW): The stock fell 12% in early pre-market trade despite beating Q1 earnings expectations and raising its full-year guidance. Investors seem to have ignored the company’s attempt to downplay concerns of the impact of the Middle East conflict on its projects.

Intel Corp (INTC): Gears up to report earnings later today, with investors watching for data center and AI revenues. It is also gaining ground on the back of a supply-chain win for Elon Musk's Terafab project. 

Quantumscape (QS): The stock is trending on Stocktwits and surged nearly 20% in pre-market trade following a strong earnings beat and positive demand outlook. 

STMicroelectronics (STM): The key chip supplier to Apple and Tesla posted steady Q1 earnings and sees AI data center sales topping $500 million this year and well above $1 billion in 2027.

Paramount Skydance (PSKY), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD): All eyes are on the 10:00 AM ET shareholder meeting, where WBD is expected to approve a massive $110 billion deal with PSKY.

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Poet Technologies (POET), Avis Budget Group (CAR), Terrestrial Energy (IMSR), and Lululemon (LULU).

Other Catalysts To Watch

On the economic front, traders will be watching the release of initial jobless claims at 8:30 am ET and the S&P global manufacturing and services PMI at 9:45 am. 

On earnings radar, watch out for quarterly reports from American Airlines Group Inc (AAL), PENN Entertainment Inc. (PENN), Lockheed Martin (LMT), American Express (AXP), PG&E Corporation and (PCG) before the bell today. And apart from Intel, Newmont (NEM), Medical Properties Trust Inc (MPT) and Windtree Therapeutics (WINT) are among those reporting after market close today. 

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