U.S. stock index futures were mixed on Thursday as investors weighed escalating tensions between the United States and Iran against a continued rebound in semiconductor shares.
By 07:09 ET (11:09 GMT), the Dow futures contract had slipped by 85 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures had gained 12 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had advanced by 176 points, or 0.6%.
Technology and healthcare stocks led premarket gains, and traders also reacted to a series of corporate announcements including an executive hire, clinical trial data and a strategic partnership.
Notable premarket movers
- Enovix surged 17% after appointing former Apple executive Michael Vyvoda as chief operating officer. Vyvoda, who previously helped scale AirPods manufacturing at Apple, will be responsible for Enovixs global manufacturing, supply chain and operations as the battery technology firm ramps up production in Malaysia and South Korea.
- Forte Biosciences jumped 12% after reporting positive Phase 1b results for its vitiligo treatment FB102. The company said the therapy produced a statistically significant improvement versus placebo, with patients continuing to show benefits through 24 weeks.
- Rackspace Technology gained 8% after announcing a strategic partnership with Palantir Technologies to create a framework for deploying enterprise artificial intelligence in regulated industries. The deal positions Rackspace as a preferred partner for implementing Palantirs Foundry and Artificial Intelligence Platform in sovereign clouds, private cloud and on-premises environments.
- PepsiCo slipped 1.8% after posting mixed second-quarter results. Revenue exceeded Wall Street estimates on stronger sales across its snacks and beverages segments, but adjusted earnings per share came in just below analyst expectations, triggering some selling pressure.
These moves illustrate how company-specific developments - executive changes, clinical trial outcomes and commercial partnerships - can drive sharp premarket reactions, even as larger macro forces such as geopolitical tensions influence overall market tone. Technology and healthcare names in particular led the upside, while consumer staples saw modest weakness following PepsiCos earnings update.
Market participants will likely continue to assess the impact of external geopolitical news alongside earnings and strategic updates as the trading day progresses.