U.S. stock futures were trading lower on Friday as oil prices rose above $110 a barrel and political developments failed to ease investor concerns. President Donald Trump's extension to a deadline related to possible strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure did not substantially soothe market nerves, and equity futures reflected that unease.
By 07:33 ET (11:33 GMT), futures were down across the major U.S. indexes. The Dow futures contract had fallen by 169 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 futures were lower by 27 points, or 0.4%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had dropped by 148 points, or 0.6%.
Premarket movers
- Energy names: Oil majors Chevron and Exxon Mobil were each modestly higher in early trading, as were ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum, reflecting the rebound in crude prices.
- Carnival Corp.: Shares slipped by more than 1% ahead of the cruise operator's quarterly results, with investors focused on any commentary about how the war involving Iran might affect fuel expenses.
- Rocket Pharmaceuticals: The stock jumped by roughly 10% after U.S. drug regulators approved the company's therapy for a fatal childhood disorder.
- Lantern Pharma: Shares rose by over 11% following U.S. regulatory clearance to start a study of a treatment for pediatric brain cancer.
- Phathom Pharmaceuticals: The gastrointestinal-focused biopharma firm climbed after receiving an upgraded rating from Barclays.
- Argan: The U.S. power plant builder saw its shares jump after reporting robust fourth-quarter revenue growth.
- Brown-Forman: The spirits company ticked up after French rival Pernod Ricard confirmed it is in merger talks with the owner of the Jack Daniel's whiskey brand.
- Unity Software: The stock surged more than 14% after preliminary first-quarter results pointed to strength in its advertising business enhanced by artificial intelligence tools.
- Two Harbors Investment: Shares dipped following the firm's agreement to be acquired by CrossCountry.
Overall, the early session combined broader macroeconomic and geopolitical pressure with company-specific news, producing a mix of gains and losses across sectors. Energy equities moved higher alongside the uptick in crude prices, while several biotechnology and software names reacted sharply to regulatory and earnings-related developments.
Investors remained attentive to incoming corporate updates as well as unfolding geopolitical headlines that could influence commodity costs and broader market sentiment.