New York, June 11, 2026, 06:03 (ET)
- Dow futures were up 381 points in early premarket trading. S&P 500 futures added 0.75% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1.10%.
- The rebound comes after stocks tumbled on Wednesday. The Dow ended down 953.33 points, while the S&P 500 slid 1.62% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.98%.
- Investors are looking at May inflation coming in hot at 4.2% while watching for signs that the latest jump in oil hasn’t led to a real supply panic yet.
U.S. stock futures moved higher early Thursday, tracking a partial comeback after Wall Street’s sharp drop. Investors worked to parse tough inflation signals from a deeper market shock. Nasdaq 100 futures led, up 313.75 points, or 1.10%. S&P 500 futures added 54.75 points, or 0.75%, and Dow Jones futures gained 381 points, or 0.76%, just past 5:30 a.m. ET.
Big drops in high-growth tech names grabbed attention Wednesday, but it wasn’t just another pullback. Investors faced stretched AI prices, inflation at a three-year high, and fresh U.S.-Iran clashes near the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil route. Yet, futures are rebounding this morning, even with those same risks still around.
Markets tumbled in the last session, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sinking 953.33 points to 49,918.78. The S&P 500 lost 119.66 points, closing at 7,266.99, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 509.32 points to 25,169.50. Reuters linked the declines to weakness in tech and more U.S.-Iran tensions. The AP said another selloff in artificial-intelligence names hit the market hard.
Inflation is still the top concern for markets. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.5% in May and 4.2% over the past year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday. Core CPI, which leaves out food and energy prices, climbed 0.2% during the month and 2.9% year-over-year.
Cautious rebound follows the split. Headline CPI was hot but matched forecasts. Energy weighed most: BLS reported a 3.9% climb in the energy index in May, which made up more than 60% of the month’s CPI gain. Gasoline was up 7.0% for May and 40.5% over the year.
The Federal Reserve faces a mixed picture. Inflation remains higher than target, but the softer core inflation lets some equity traders argue energy prices haven’t fully bled into other areas yet. “Just because the inflation numbers came in consistent with expectations doesn’t mean they were good,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management. Reuters
Oil stays in focus. Brent crude inched up 8 cents to $93.18 a barrel by 0702 GMT, while WTI crude added 25 cents to $90.28. Both had jumped more than $2 earlier but lost steam. That pullback caught traders’ notice. Higher oil keeps inflation sticky, which could limit hopes for looser central bank policy.
Oil prices traded choppy after Tehran announced the Strait of Hormuz was closed following more U.S. strikes on Iran, Reuters said. But U.S. Central Command reported that merchant ships were still moving through the strait. Linh Tran, a market analyst at XS.com, told Reuters that the oil rally “was not fully sustained” since there was no proof yet of actual shipment disruption. Reuters
Tech stocks steered the action again. The Philadelphia semiconductor index dropped 3.6% Wednesday, pulling down the S&P 500 as Nvidia and Broadcom weighed heavily. The S&P 500 tech sector ended the day off 11% from its June 2 record, pushing it into correction territory—defined as a decline of 10% or more from a recent peak.
That matters since the year’s rally depended on AI-linked stocks. If those leaders fall, the index can drop fast—even if defensive groups stay firm. Super Micro Computer dropped 28% Wednesday after it said it would raise $7 billion in equity and equity-linked financing to buy parts for AI server demand.
Thursday’s futures bounce could fade fast if Iran’s threats lead to real oil supply problems. Energy prices could jump, pushing gasoline-driven inflation into the rest of the economy. That might leave the Fed less able to overlook the shock. Reuters said investors have already started to price in at least one 25-basis-point hike by year-end, with the Fed’s next policy meeting coming up June 16–17.
Premarket quotes just give an early read. Markets Insider points out premarket futures prices can diverge from where stocks open, with the gap often wider when headlines about military action, oil swings, or rates set the tone.
The key question now isn’t if futures can hold gains before the open. Investors are weighing whether the May CPI jump was just an energy bump the Fed will look through, or the beginning of a bigger inflation issue that could push officials to take a harder line at the June 16–17 meeting next week.
