Wall St set to gain on tech rebound, Middle East in focus

U.S. stocks were set to ⁠open ⁠higher on Thursday, as investors sought ⁠bargains in beaten-down technology stocks and kept a close watch on developments around ​the Middle East conflict and its impact on economies and businesses.

Chipmakers bounced back after Wednesday’s selloff sent major Wall Street ‌indexes down more than 1% and ‌technology stocks into correction territory, a 10% drop from their record close.

Nvidia, Intel and Micron Technology were up ⁠between 1% ⁠and 4.6% in premarket trading.

The United States will hit Iran “very hard tonight” and ​soon take control of the Middle Eastern country’s oil and gas infrastructure and markets, U.S. President Donald Trump said.

Futures pared some of their earlier gains, while oil prices edged higher. [O/R]

“That’s (Trump’s warning) a pretty worrisome thought for the market but what we’re ​seeing here is a market that may have been grossly oversold over the past few days. And ⁠so ⁠that’s why we’re seeing some ⁠sort of a ​bump,” said Phil Blancato, chief market strategist at Osaic Wealth.

At 09:02 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up ​248 points, or 0.5%, and ⁠S&P 500 E-minis were up 33 points, or 0.45%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 233.25 points, or 0.82%.

The S&P 500 has dropped about 4% since hitting a record closing high in early June. Investors are grappling with concerns about stretched valuations in the technology sector and tighter monetary policy, as the Middle East conflict sends energy prices ⁠soaring, stoking inflationary pressures.

Data showed U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in May, leading ⁠to the largest annual gain in 3-1/2 years.

Separately, the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased marginally last week.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates in the 3.50%-3.75% range at its next policy meeting on June 17, with investors pricing in at least one 25 basis point rate hike by the end of the year.

The highly anticipated Friday market debut of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, set to be valued at $1.75 trillion, could also test the rally this year that has repeatedly lifted stocks to record levels.

Among other movers, Oracle shares plunged 9% after the ⁠company projected capital spending plans for fiscal 2027 above Wall Street estimates, underscoring the heavy cash outlays required to expand its AI infrastructure.

Shares of Navan jumped 21% after the corporate travel booking agency raised its full-year forecasts for revenue and operating income on Wednesday, citing strong business travel ​demand and growth in its enterprise customer base.

Exxon Mobil’s head of global ⁠trading Tracey Gunnlaugsson is retiring, two sources with knowledge of the ​matter said. 

Gunnlaugsson, based in Houston according to her LinkedIn profile, was appointed to lead the trading division in ‌2023 after previously serving as ‌human resources vice president at the company for nearly five years.

Exxon declined to comment. Reuters could ⁠not immediately ⁠reach Gunnlaugsson for a comment.

The oil major’s earnings have been dented by ​what Exxon describes as trading-related “timing losses”, despite higher oil prices from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The company reported a $3.9 billion paper loss stemming from derivatives in the first quarter which pushed net income ​down to its lowest level in five years.