Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Lower As Trump Reviews Iran Strike Option: Why META, INTC, GOOGL, AAPL, QCOM, VKTX Are Keeping Traders Engaged Today

• Big Tech earnings delivered mixed signals, with rising AI capex plans raising concerns about near-term profitability.
• Oil surged amid escalating tensions with Iran, the United States Oil Fund ETF (USO) has surged 128% this year. 
• Investors now turn to PCE inflation data and jobless claims for clues on the Fed’s next move.

U.S. stock futures slipped in early trade on Thursday as investors digested the wave of Big Tech earnings and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. 

Brent crude futures jumped nearly 7% to over $120 following reports that President Trump is reviewing military strike options against Iran to break a nuclear negotiation deadlock. Shares of the United States Oil Fund ETF (USO) have risen over 120% this year so far. 

As of 4:00 a.m. ET on Thursday: Dow futures were down 0.6%, Russell 2000 futures declined 0.3%, S&P 500 futures were down 0.1%, while Nasdaq futures were flat with a positive bias.

Retail sentiment toward the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, has remained in ‘bullish’ territory, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index, has moved back to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ a day ago, even as four of the largest tech firms are now projecting combined capex of up to $725 billion by 2026.

Trending Stocks To Watch

Meta (META) stock fell another 9% in early premarket trade on bloated 2026 capex forecast of up to $145 billion and missed user growth. The Zuckerberg-led company signaled that its massive AI investments may take years to yield a significant return. 

Intel Corp (INTC): Shares continued their upmove from last week’s blowout beat, with fresh boost coming from U.S. President Donald Trump. In addition, news reports suggest it is in conversation with custom chip talks with Apple and Google. 

Microsoft (MSFT) posted a solid cloud beat, which was offset by a Q4 revenue outlook that missed analyst estimates. Stock fell nearly 2% in early premarket trading on Thursday.

Alphabet Inc (GOOGL): Stock rose 6% in early premarket trade following a first-quarter beat, with CEO Andy Jassy defending the high ROI of their AI chip business. 

Qualcomm (QCOM) shares surged nearly 13% in early premarket trade after announcing in its earnings call that it will soon ship data center chips to a major hyperscale cloud provider. 

Apple (AAPL) will report its second quarter earnings on Thursday after the bell, its first report since it announced that John Ternus will succeed Tim Cook as CEO. 

Nvidia (NVDA): Reports suggest that black-market crackdowns in China have doubled the price of B300 AI servers to $1 million each. 

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (VKTX) were under mild pressure in premarket trading on Thursday after the drugmaker said that its newer obesity drug candidate beat Novo Nordisk’s comparable therapy in animal studies.

Robinhood (HOOD): Stock took a knock on Wednesday after missing Q1 revenue and EPS estimates. In an exclusive interview with Stocktwits, Robinhood CFO Shiv Verma said the earnings miss was driven by a surge in active traders on lower pricing tiers, not weak demand. He added that April is tracking equity and options volumes at the highest month of the year, and on pace to be the second-best month in company history. 

Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA): Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest added more shares on Wednesday, along with HOOD.

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Akanda Corp (AKAN), Jaguar Health Inc (JAGX) and Rolls Royce (RYCEY).

Other Catalysts To Watch

On the economic front, traders will be watching the release of the PCE Price Index, a critical inflation gauge, alongside Initial Jobless Claims and the Chicago PMI. 

On earnings radar, watch out for quarterly reports from Caterpillar Inc (CAT), Eli Lilly (LLY), Mastercard Inc Class A (MA), Royal Caribbean Group Ltd (RCL), and Merck & Co (MRK), among others, before the bell. Apart from Appls, Riot Platforms (RIOT), iBio Inc (IBIO), Rivian Automotive (RIVN), and others, report after-market close today.

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