US Pre-Market, July 13, 2026: Nasdaq Futures Slide 1.1% as a Memory-Chip Rout Meets an Iran Oil Shock

Sentiment: bearish S&P 500 futures: -0.39% | Nasdaq 100 futures: -1.12% | Dow futures: -0.15%

US equity futures pointed lower before Monday's open, Nasdaq 100 futures down 1.12% against the S&P 500 future's 0.39% dip, as a memory-chip selloff that sent South Korea's Kospi down 8.95% into a circuit breaker met a weekend US-Iran clash near the Strait of Hormuz that lifted Brent crude 3.70% to US$78.82. SK Hynix fell 15.37% in Seoul, unwinding Friday's 13% Nasdaq ADR debut on profit-taking and a downbeat memory forecast; US pre-market chip names followed. The setup lands a day before June CPI and the first wave of big-bank earnings, with the US 10-year yield near 4.57%.

Overnight drivers

• Memory-chip selloff: Kospi -8.95% (down 669 points) tripped a market-wide circuit breaker at 1:28pm Seoul time after SK Hynix -15.37% and Samsung Electronics -10% led memory lower. US chip names followed pre-market, pulling Nasdaq 100 futures to -1.12% versus the Dow future's -0.15%.
• US-Iran Strait of Hormuz clash: Brent +3.70% to US$78.82, WTI +3.70% to US$74.05 after the US renewed strikes over the weekend and Iran's IRGC said the strait would stay "closed until further notice." Higher crude lifted energy names and pressured transport-exposed sectors into the open.
• Firm dollar, higher yields: DXY at 100.96 and the US 10-year near 4.57% (up from Friday's 4.54%) sent gold down 1.04% to US$4,071/oz despite the risk-off tone, an unusual pairing where currency and rate pressure outweighed haven demand.
• Calendar overhang: June CPI (Tuesday 8:30am ET), bank earnings from Tuesday, and Fed Chair Warsh's House testimony left futures defensive into a data-heavy week.

Overnight Asia and Europe

• Kospi (South Korea): 6,806.93, -8.95%, circuit breaker triggered
• Nikkei 225 (Japan): 67,242.73, -1.92%
• Shanghai Composite (China): 3,913.79, -2.06%
• Hang Seng (Hong Kong): 24,213.72, +0.16%
• STOXX 600 (Europe): 639.87, -0.19%
• DAX (Germany): 25,091.72, +0.10%
• FTSE 100 (UK): 10,475.95, -0.20%

Korea and China led the regional decline as the memory selloff hit chip-heavy indices hardest. Hong Kong closed near flat, and European bourses opened within 0.2% of Friday's levels, so the losses stayed concentrated in Asian tech rather than spreading across regions.

Pre-market movers

• MU.US: down about 5% pre-market, leading US memory lower alongside WDC.US, also off roughly 5% on supply-glut and memory-pricing concerns.
• SNDK.US: -4.8%, extending a storage selloff that built late last week.
• INTC.US and AMD.US: each down more than 3% as the weakness widened beyond memory into logic and processors.
• NVDA.US: off about 1%, a smaller move that left the AI leader firmer than the memory names.
• SK Hynix's US ADR: down roughly 8% pre-market, giving back part of Friday's 13% Nasdaq debut pop.

Commodities and FX

• Brent crude: US$78.82/bbl, +3.70%
• WTI crude: US$74.05/bbl, +3.70%
• Gold: US$4,071/oz, -1.04%
• Copper: US$6.30/lb, +0.29%
• US Dollar Index (DXY): 100.96, little changed
• US 10-year yield: 4.57%, up from Friday's 4.54%

Crude's 3.70% jump on the Strait of Hormuz standoff is the session's clearest macro signal. Gold's slide into a risk-off open confirms that a firm dollar and rising yields outweighed haven buying, a divergence worth tracking if oil holds its bid.

US economic calendar today (ET)

• No first-tier US data prints on Monday; the week's catalysts begin Tuesday.
• Tuesday 8:30am: June CPI, the pivotal inflation reading for rate expectations.
• Tuesday, pre-open: Q2 bank earnings from JPM.US, WFC.US, C.US, GS.US, and BAC.US.
• Tuesday 10:00am: Fed Chair Warsh testifies before the House Financial Services Committee.

What to watch

• US chip names after the Kospi circuit breaker: whether they steady or extend Asia's selloff once the cash session opens.
• Brent's path around US$80; a sustained move higher would keep energy bid and pressure oil-sensitive sectors.
• The 10-year near 4.57% and a firm dollar heading into Tuesday's CPI print.

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