US Pre-Market 23 July 2026: Futures Lower on Alphabet, Tesla AI-Spend Guidance; Oil Up Over 4%

Sentiment: bearish US futures: S&P 500 -0.78%, Nasdaq -1.09%, Dow -0.89%

S&P 500 futures point 0.78% lower and Nasdaq futures 1.09% lower into the 23 July 2026 open after Alphabet and Tesla both lifted their AI capital-spending plans, sending GOOGL.US down about 4.5% and TSLA.US about 6% in pre-market trade. Alphabet raised its 2026 capex guidance to as much as US$205 billion, and Tesla's automotive gross margin slipped to 16.8% and missed. WTI crude is up 4.71% to US$90.92 and the US 10-year yield is at 4.70%, adding higher energy costs and firmer rates on top of the earnings reaction.

Overnight drivers

• Alphabet and Tesla capex: GOOGL.US about -4.5%, TSLA.US about -6% pre-market. Alphabet beat on revenue at US$119.8 billion (Search +17%, Google Cloud +82% to US$24.8 billion), but a 2026 capex guide of up to US$205 billion revived AI-spending concerns; Tesla posted its first negative free cash flow in over two years as auto margin fell to 16.8%.
• Oil: WTI +4.71% to US$90.92, Brent +3.57% to US$93.40. A 12th day of US strikes on Iranian targets, plus Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea shipping threats, drove crude higher, a tailwind for energy names XOM.US, CVX.US, OXY.US and SLB.US and a fresh input for the inflation and rates picture.
• Yields: US 10-year at 4.70%, up about 4 basis points, and the US Dollar Index at 101.37 (+0.24%). Firmer rates weigh on the growth and tech multiples that lead the futures decline.
• Semiconductors: KOSPI +4.40%, with SK Hynix up about 4% and Samsung leading, as traders read Alphabet's larger AI-infrastructure budget as chip demand even while the same guide pressured GOOGL.US itself.

Overnight Wall Street

• S&P 500: 7,498.96 (-0.14%) on 22 July, close to flat
• Nasdaq: 25,690.90 (-0.57%), lower ahead of the Alphabet and Tesla reports
• Dow: 52,218.58 (-0.01%), flat
• VIX: 18.41, up 10.62%

The 22 July cash session finished close to flat as investors waited on Alphabet and Tesla, both of which reported after the bell. The post-close reaction in the two names set the lower futures for 23 July.

Overnight Asia and Europe

South Korea's KOSPI rose 4.40% to 7,096.89, the standout in Asia, on a semiconductor rebound led by Samsung and SK Hynix. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.28%, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.46% and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.25%. Europe traded lower into the US open: the STOXX 600 was down 0.92%, Germany's DAX 0.79%, France's CAC 40 1.33% and the UK FTSE 100 0.42%.

Commodities and FX

• Brent crude: US$93.40 (+3.57%)
• WTI crude: US$90.92 (+4.71%)
• Gold: US$4,076/oz (-1.82%)
• US Dollar Index: 101.37 (+0.24%)

Gold fell 1.82% to US$4,076/oz even as equities weakened, a move that tracked the firmer dollar and higher yields rather than any easing in haven demand.

Pre-market movers

• TSLA.US about -6%: auto gross margin of 16.8% missed and free cash flow turned negative for the first time in over two years.
• GOOGL.US about -4.5%: revenue beat but 2026 capex guided up to US$205 billion.
• META.US, MSFT.US and AMZN.US traded lower in sympathy on the AI-spending read.
• NVDA.US and chip suppliers traded higher, tracking the overnight Samsung and SK Hynix rally.

US economic calendar today (ET)

• 8:30am ET: Initial jobless claims, forecast 218,000 versus 215,000 prior
• 10:00am ET: Existing home sales for June
• The Federal Reserve is in its pre-meeting blackout ahead of the 28 to 29 July FOMC decision.

What to watch

• Nasdaq breadth at the open: whether the AI-capex reaction stays contained to Alphabet, Tesla and the hyperscalers or spreads to the wider tech tape.
• Crude direction: energy is the only US sector trading higher pre-market, and a further oil move feeds the rates and inflation picture into the FOMC blackout.

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