US Pre-Market 23 September 2026: Futures Slip After the Nasdaq's Record Close, Brent Clears US$96

Sentiment: mixed S&P 500 futures: -0.12%

S&P 500 futures sit at 7,822.00, down 0.12%, with Brent crude up 1.10% to US$96.46 after Iran's General Staff rejected Donald Trump's United Nations threats and attached conditions to reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Worthington Enterprises WOR.US leads the pre-market at +17.21% to $69.00 on a first-quarter earnings beat and demand for the tanks that cool data centres. Russell 2000 futures trail at -0.60%, with the US 10-year yield at 4.99% and the 30-year mortgage contract rate at 7.12%, its highest since 2024.

Overnight drivers

• Iran and the Strait of Hormuz: Brent +1.10% to US$96.46, WTI +0.30% to US$90.79. Iran's General Staff called Trump's General Assembly remarks "a sign of strategic desperation" on Wednesday and laid out conditions for ending the seven-month conflict. Energy is the one sector bid before the bell: COP.US +1.05%, OXY.US +1.02%, XOM.US +0.67%.
• Rates and the dollar: the US 10-year yield is 4.99%, up 2.4 basis points, the 30-year is 5.30%, and the dollar index is 100.93, up 0.32%. Gold fell 0.59% to US$4,350.50 an ounce, and NEM.US is -2.34% pre-market after closing +3.42% on Tuesday.
• Memory chips handing back Tuesday's gains: MU.US -0.65%, STX.US -1.61%, WDC.US -0.77% and SNDK.US -0.48% pre-market, against Tuesday closes of +5.00%, +4.85%, +3.67% and +6.82%.
• Futures spread: S&P 500 futures -0.12% at 7,822.00, Nasdaq 100 futures -0.28% at 30,941.00, Dow futures -0.33% at 52,108, Russell 2000 futures -0.60% at 2,896.70. VIX 14.34, up 0.91%.

Tuesday's close

The Nasdaq Composite finished at 27,244.28 on 22 September 2026, up 122.18 points or 0.45%, a second consecutive record close. The S&P 500 ended at 7,764.64, lower by 0.06 of a point. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 51,863.69, down 185.14 points or 0.36%, and the Russell 2000 added 0.51% to 2,889.92.

Financials fell as a block and no company announcement explained it. WFC.US -3.92%, JPM.US -3.42%, BAC.US -3.04%, MS.US -2.88%, AXP.US -2.72%, TRV.US -2.46%, V.US -2.14% and MA.US -2.07%. SNDK.US rose 6.82% after a bullish analyst note and its addition to the S&P 100. MU.US added 5.00% into a fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 report due next week, with STX.US +4.85% and WDC.US +3.67%. LEN.US closed +6.38% on a report that Berkshire Hathaway had taken a position in the homebuilder.

Overnight Asia and Europe

• Nikkei 225 closed at 65,018.95, +1.38%.
• KOSPI 7,080.92, +0.90%, and Taiwan's TAIEX 48,157.29, +0.75%.
• Hang Seng 24,834.12, -1.01%.
• STOXX 600 639.39 (-0.53%), DAX 25,380.35 (-0.78%) and FTSE 100 10,688.08 (-0.19%) at 8:35am ET.

Pre-market movers

MSFT.US +0.83% and AAPL.US +0.26% sit against NVDA.US -0.46% and AVGO.US -1.00% before the open.

US economic calendar today (ET)

• 07:00 MBA mortgage applications, already out. Total volume fell 1.5% on the week, purchase applications 1% and refinancing 3%. Refinancing is 62% below the same week a year ago, the lowest since February 2025. The 30-year conforming contract rate rose to 7.12% from 6.97% and the adjustable-rate share reached 9.8%.
• 09:45 S&P Global flash US manufacturing and services PMI for September.
• 10:30 EIA weekly petroleum status report, the first inventory print since Brent cleared US$96.

What to watch

• Russell 2000 futures -0.60% against Nasdaq 100 futures -0.28%, with the 10-year at 4.99% and the 30-year mortgage rate at 7.12%.
• KBH.US -2.96% pre-market follows LEN.US +6.38% on Tuesday, one on a margin guide and one on a Berkshire position.
• The 09:45 flash PMI lands with S&P 500 futures at 7,822.00 and the VIX at 14.34.
• Trump and Xi Jinping meet on Thursday, with AI policy, tariff rates, rare earths and the Iran conflict on the agenda.
• WFC.US and JPM.US are near flat pre-market at -0.17% and -0.55% after Tuesday's declines of 3.92% and 3.42%.

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