Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Slip, LNG Strikes Rattle Energy Markets: Why MU, TSLA, BATL, SOFI, ALGN Are Keeping Traders Engaged Today

•  Escalating Middle East tensions sent oil and gas prices sharply higher.
• LNG stocks surged on supply disruption fears, while AI and chip names saw weak investor sentiment.
• Traders will monitor jobless claims, housing data, and a fresh wave of earnings for direction.

U.S. stock futures edged lower early Thursday amid escalating military conflict in the Middle East. Global markets were shaken by Iranian and Israeli attacks on key gas hubs, including a damaged LNG export facility in Qatar. Following these strikes on Middle East energy assets, President Donald Trump urged for a de-escalation of the conflict.

Brent crude prices surged to $115 per barrel, with energy stocks such as Battalion Oil (BATL) and Trio Petroleum (TPET) rising over 7%, while Indonesia Energy (INDO) and EON Resources (EONR) each rose 2%. Gas prices were also sharply higher, with U.S. LNG stocks such as NEXT and VG rising 4%.

As of 4:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, S&P and Dow futures fell 0.1% each, and Nasdaq futures and Russell 2000 futures were down 0.3%.

Retail sentiment toward the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, remained ‘extremely bearish, and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index, has remained ‘bearish’ amid high trading volume. 

Trending Stocks To Watch

Micron Technology (MU): Stock fell 5% in early pre-market trade despite strong results due to high capital expenditure concerns. The chipmaker expects construction related capex to increase by over $10B in FY27.

Tesla (TSLA): Elon Musk confirmed that the newly merged SpaceX AI and Tesla will continue high-volume Nvidia chip orders, even as the EV maker prepares its in-house "AI5" chip for Optimus and Robotaxis.

Red Cat Holdings (RCAT): The stock slid another 7% in early trade on Thursday on an earnings miss, despite citing global drone demand as a long-term tailwind.

SoFi Technologies (SOFI): Stock remained under pressure following scrutiny tied to a short seller report.

Align Technology (ALGN): Stock rose 4% premarket after activist firm Elliott Investment Management reportedly built a significant stake in the company. 

Figma (FIG): Stock was under mild pressure in early pre-market trade after Google’s AI tool, Stitch, introduced advanced design capabilities.

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Intuitive Machines Inc (LUNR), Sandisk Corp (SNDK), and Swarmer Inc (SWMR). 

Other Catalysts To Watch

On the economic front, investors will be tracking the latest weekly jobless claims, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index and new home sales data. 

On earnings radar, watch out for quarterly reports from Carnival Cruises (CCL), Lithium Americas (LAC), Bit Digital (BTBT), Sellas Life Sciences (SLS),  Firefly Aerospace (FLY), and Gemini Space Station (GEMI), among others.

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