Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Rise As Iran Strait Deal Hopes Lift Risk Sentiment: Why ARM, IONQ, DASH, SNAP, ASTS, SOUN Are In Focus

• A possible breakthrough around the Strait of Hormuz helped lift U.S. futures Thursday.
• Markets are bracing for a slate of labor market data and earnings from companies including McDonald’s, Peloton, Coinbase, Block, DraftKings, and Unity Software.
• Arm Holdings (ARM), Snap (SNAP), and IonQ (IONQ) fell in premarket trading on earnings-related concerns. 

U.S. stock futures rose early Thursday after closing at record highs in the previous session, as investors parsed a fresh wave of earnings reports and geopolitical developments in the Middle East. The U.S. and Iran have reportedly reached an agreement to ease the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a gradual reopening of the crucial waterway.

On Wednesday night, President Donald Trump expressed hope for a deal with Iran, saying talks have been “very good” and that the war will “be over quickly”.

As of 4:00 a.m. ET on Thursday: Dow, Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Russell 2000 futures rose 0.2%.

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 remained ‘bullish’ from ‘extremely bullish’ earlier this week.

Trending Stocks To Watch

Arm Holdings (ARM): Reported stellar demand for its AGI CPUs but spooked investors with supply chain uncertainties in its earnings call. Management admitted they have not yet secured enough supply to meet the $2 billion in demand for their new chips. The stock was down 5% in early premarket trade. 

DoorDash (DASH) provided a bright spot, with strong order growth projections, and the stock rose 11% in early premarket trading. 

Snap Inc (SNAP) shares fell 8% in early premarket trade following its Q1 earnings report on Wednesday. Snap disclosed that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East cost the company $20–$25 million in ad revenue in March alone. 

IonQ Inc (IONQ): Shares were down 5% in early premarket trade as investors looked past strong revenue growth to focus on widening losses, despite a raised full-year forecast. 

AST SpaceMobile Inc (ASTS) stock rose 6% in early premarket trading after the company confirmed a mid-June SpaceX Falcon 9 launch. This announcement comes ahead of earnings next week.  

Opendoor Technologies (OPEN) and SoundHound AI (SOUN) are trending on Stocktwits ahead of their earnings. 

McDonald’s (MCD): In focus ahead of the opening bell as investors wait to see if the fast-food giant can maintain margins amid rising commodity costs.

Coinbase (COIN): Trending ahead of its after-market report, with a focus on the ticker following news that a U.S. Bitcoin Reserve update is expected within weeks.

Keep an eye on airline stocks (DAL, UAL, AAL): The industry has put pressure on the Trump administration to resolve the Iran conflict, citing the unsustainable economic burden of high jet fuel prices. 

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included AppLovin Corp (APP), Celsius Holdings (CELH), Nokia Corp (NOK), and Whirlpool Corp (WHR).

Other Catalysts To Watch

On the economic front, traders will be watching the release of the initial and continuing jobless claims at 8:30 am ET today.

On earnings radar, watch out for quarterly reports from McDonald's (MCD), Datadog (DDOG). Planet Fitness (PLNT), Peloton (PTON), TripAdvisor (TRIP), Papa John's (PZZA), Altimmune Inc (ALT), and Unity Software Inc (U), among others, before the bell today. Block Inc Class A (XYZ), Mara Holdings Inc (MARA), Coinbase Global Inc Class A (COIN), DraftKings Inc (DKNG), and Gevo Inc (GEVO), are among others reporting after market close.

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