Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Mixed Despite AI-Fueled Intel Surge: Why AMD, RKLB, SKLZ, OGN, ASGN Are In Focus

• While the extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire offered some relief, the lack of progress on a broader Iran deal kept oil prices elevated.
• Intel surged over 20% pre-market, lifting semiconductor stocks after its AI business drove strong earnings.
• On the economic front, traders will be watching the release of Durable Goods Orders data later this morning.

U.S. stock futures were mixed early Friday as markets struggled to find direction after a previous choppy session. While there were relief signals with the extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, the lack of progress on a peace deal with Iran has kept a floor on oil prices, with Brent crude holding around $105/barrel. 

As of 4:00 a.m. ET on Friday: Dow and Russell 2000 futures fell 0.1%, S&P 500 futures were flat with a positive bias and Nasdaq futures gained 0.5%.

Retail sentiment toward the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, remained in the ‘bullish’ territory, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index, has moderated to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’ a day ago, after the selloff in software stocks.

Trending Stocks To Watch

Intel Corp (INTC): Semiconductor strength gains retail attention as CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s AI pivot bore fruit in INTC Q1 earnings. Its AI-driven business now represents 60% of Intel's revenue. Stock rose by more than 20% in early pre-market trading, with a sympathy rally across peers such as AMD (+8%).

Rocket Lab (RKLB): Unveiled a new high-performance star tracker for high-radiation environments. This follows two space launches this week. 

Skillz (SKLZ) stock pared back nearly 30% in early pre-market trade. This followed a stellar 200% rally in the previous session due to a $420M legal victory against Papaya Gaming. 

Organon (OGN): The stock is trending on heavy volume following reports that India’s Sun Pharmaceutical is preparing a $13 billion all-cash binding offer to acquire the company. 

ASGN Inc (ASGN): The stock crashed 50% in early pre-market trade after a massive Q1 miss and skepticism over its ‘Everforth’ rebrand.

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Lucid Group (LCID), ReAlloys Inc (ALOY), Oklo Inc (OKLO) and Nvidia (NVDA).

Other Catalysts To Watch

On the economic front, traders will be watching the release of Durable Goods Orders (Mar) at 8:30 am ET. 

On earnings radar, watch out for quarterly reports from Procter & Gamble ($PG - Cons: $1.56), Schlumberger ($SLB - Cons: $0.52), HCA Healthcare ($HCA - Cons: $7.15), and Norfolk Southern ($NSC) before the bell. Meanwhile, Charter Communications ($CHTR), Western Union ($WU) are among others reporting after market close today. 

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