US stocks pre-market: futures steady after the Juneteenth break
Wall Street reopens this morning after the Juneteenth holiday closed US markets on Friday, and the futures point to a steady start. S&P 500 futures are little changed (ES, +0.01%) and Nasdaq 100 futures sit slightly higher (+0.31%), recovering from a softer Sunday-night session that followed renewed US-Iran headlines over the weekend. The last full cash session, Thursday June 18, closed firmly: the S&P 500 rose 1.08% to 7,500.58, the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.91%, the Dow added 0.14%, and the Russell 2000 climbed 2.12%, a tech and chip-led move that leaves the index near record territory.
What is driving the pre-market
The weekend centred on the Middle East. President Trump renewed threats of strikes on Iran, and headlines flagged a possible closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which pushed equity futures lower on Sunday evening. Those moves have since faded after mediators from Qatar and Pakistan reported progress toward a 60-day peace roadmap and Iran and Israel signalled a halt to offensive operations. Brent crude eased back below $80 to near $79 (down about 1.5%), with WTI around $76, both off their weekend highs.
Overnight: Asia and Europe
Japan led Asia. The Nikkei 225 jumped about 2.3% toward record territory, helped by a weak yen and a report that Tokyo is targeting a 10 trillion yen push into physical AI by 2040, which lifted local chip and tech names. Mainland China firmed (Shanghai Composite +0.2%, CSI 300 +0.7%) on hopes for fresh policy support. Hong Kong lagged: the Hang Seng fell about 0.8%, dragged by EV maker BYD after reports the EU is weighing new restrictions on Chinese electric vehicles. Europe opened a touch higher in quiet trade, with the STOXX 600, FTSE 100 and DAX each up around 0.1% to 0.2%.
Pre-market movers
Alphabet (GOOGL.US) is the standout decliner, down about 2.2% pre-market after a supply-chain analyst note said Google is developing an upgraded TPU v9 AI chip with MediaTek as its exclusive partner, which read as profit-taking after a strong run. The rest of the mega-cap group is softer by smaller margins: Tesla (TSLA.US) is off about 1.0%, with Meta (META.US), Apple (AAPL.US), Amazon (AMZN.US) and Microsoft (MSFT.US) each down roughly half a percent. Chips moved the other way. Micron (MU.US) is up about 4.5% ahead of its results on Wednesday, extending Thursday's semiconductor surge, while Nvidia (NVDA.US) is flat. Marvell (MRVL.US) and Flex (FLEX.US) are both firmer as they join the S&P 500 at today's open, replacing Pool Corp and Campbell's in the June quarterly rebalance.
Rates, oil and the dollar
The US 10-year Treasury yield sits near 4.50% (4.495%, up about 4 basis points), with front-end yields at fresh cycle highs as markets lean toward a hawkish Fed. The dollar index is little changed near 100.8, and the VIX sits at 17.04, up 1.5%. Higher yields and a firmer dollar weigh most on the long-duration growth names that led Thursday's rally, which is part of why the mega-cap names are softer this morning.
The week ahead (ET)
There is no major US economic data today, with only Treasury bill auctions scheduled. The data builds through the week: S&P Global flash PMIs and Consumer Confidence on Tuesday, New Home Sales on Wednesday, and the main event on Thursday, when the May Core PCE price index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, lands at 8:30am alongside the final Q1 GDP reading, durable goods orders, and weekly jobless claims. On earnings, FedEx (FDX.US) and Carnival (CCL.US) report Tuesday and Micron (MU.US) follows on Wednesday.
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