U.S. equity futures showed little directional conviction on Thursday as market participants monitored diplomatic movements in the Middle East and digested quarterly company results. Comments from the U.S. president that negotiations with Iran were progressing, coupled with an agreement between Iran and Oman on navigation coordinates through the Strait of Hormuz, kept geopolitical risk front and center. Meanwhile, corporate updates from major technology and payments companies and fresh economic snapshots of labor and services activity helped shape sentiment.
Futures and market backdrop
By 01:17 ET (05:17 GMT), S&P 500 futures were up roughly 15 points, or 0.2%, while Dow futures had risen about 122 points, also near 0.2%. In contrast, Nasdaq 100 futures had edged lower by about 28 points, or 0.1%. The prior session ended with the major cash indexes diverging: the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 263 points, or 0.5%, while the S&P 500 slipped 13 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 222 points, or 0.8%.
Technology stocks bore much of the pressure after reports that SpaceX plans significant spending on artificial intelligence, a development the market appeared to view as excessive. Comments that SpaceX would stop buying cutting-edge processors from Advanced Micro Devices were also associated with a pullback in AMD shares, although the chipmaker otherwise reported broadly solid financial results.
Market participants were also attentive to economic data ahead of Friday’s headline release. An ADP report showed U.S. private-sector job creation in July was below expectations, even as wage gains for those changing jobs remained robust. Separate data on the services sector registered higher new orders and production, but employment in the sector declined and inflation accelerated. The July U.S. jobs report, due Friday, remains the main economic event of the week.
Iran negotiations and shipping route agreement
Talks aimed at a U.S.-Iran agreement remained in focus. President Trump and other administration officials have indicated this week that a deal could be near, although no final agreement had been reached at the time of the latest updates. The U.S. has repeatedly emphasized that any arrangement must not cede control of access to the Strait of Hormuz to Iran. Before the conflict that began in late February, about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transited that corridor without passage fees.
According to reporting, Iran and Oman agreed on geographic coordinates for a shipping route through the strait, a development confirmed by the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson. A senior Iranian official also indicated that Iran is seeking passage fees as high as 7% of the value of ship cargoes. The prospect of new fees and of Tehran exercising oversight of ships entering the Gulf represents a material change from pre-conflict norms.
Oil prices were modestly lower, down about 0.3% at the latest update, after a volatile session the day before. Energy prices remain sensitive to geopolitical developments given their implications for inflation and potential central bank responses.
Sandisk posts strong quarter, issues conservative near-term guidance
Sandisk reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations, driven by stronger pricing and robust demand for data-center memory products. Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue reached $8.97 billion, a sequential increase of 51% and a year-over-year rise of 372%. Management said roughly one-third of that growth came from higher shipment volumes and about two-thirds from stronger pricing.
GAAP net income surged to $6.90 billion, or $43.97 per diluted share, compared with a loss of $23 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, in the prior year. Despite the outsized quarter and an expanded share-buyback program, Sandisk forecast fiscal first-quarter 2027 revenue of $10.3 billion to $10.8 billion, roughly in line with the Street consensus of $10.62 billion. The company also projected adjusted earnings per share of $44.00 to $46.00 versus a consensus of $44.21.
After the report, Sandisk shares fell close to 2% in after-hours trading as investors appeared to lock in gains after the stock’s strong run and noted that guidance did not materially surpass already elevated expectations.
Block lifts full-year profit outlook after beating expectations
Block reported a quarter that beat on both revenue and earnings and provided current-quarter adjusted profit guidance that topped forecasts. The fintech company also raised its full-year adjusted profit outlook. Class A shares of Block moved slightly lower in premarket trading following the announcements.
Block’s suite of products includes its point-of-sale platform for merchants, known historically as Square, and its buy now, pay later service, Afterpay. The company’s largest revenue contributor remains Cash App, a consumer mobile payments and personal finance application that also facilitates bitcoin buying and selling. Founded in 2009 as Square by Jack Dorsey, the company rebranded as Block in 2021 to signal its expansion beyond traditional payments into new technologies such as blockchain.
Moderna gains FDA approval for mRNA influenza vaccine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Moderna’s influenza vaccine, mFLUSIVA, for adults aged 50 and older. The company described the approval as its first mRNA-based flu shot and noted it was the company’s fourth FDA-approved product. Elsewhere in the announcement, the vaccine was described as Moderna’s fifth approved product globally. The company said it expects to begin supplying the vaccine to select U.S. retailers in the coming weeks ahead of the 2026-2027 respiratory virus season.
The approval followed a unanimous recommendation from the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and relied on data from a Phase 3 trial that enrolled 40,805 adults aged 50 and older across 11 countries. For adults aged 65 and above, the vaccine received accelerated approval based on immune response data from a separate U.S. trial involving 2,992 participants. Moderna said it will conduct confirmatory post-marketing studies to verify clinical benefit in the older population.
Following the approval, Moderna shares traded higher in extended-hours trading.
What to watch next
- Friday’s U.S. jobs report, which will provide a fuller view of payroll trends beyond the private-sector snapshot from ADP.
- Any further developments in negotiations involving Iran and Oman, particularly details on navigation, oversight, and proposed passage fees for the Strait of Hormuz.
- Company-specific updates from Sandisk and Block, including execution against guidance and buyback deployment at Sandisk and cadence of Cash App revenue at Block.
- Energy market reactions to geopolitical news, given the potential for price shifts to influence inflation expectations and central bank policy considerations.