New York, July 9, 2026, 09:02 EDT
Nasdaq futures moved higher Thursday, lifted by gains in chip stocks. Dow futures slipped as IBM and Microsoft dropped, with traders also watching new U.S.-Iran fighting, choppy oil, and a Fed still talking tough on inflation.
The cash market hadn’t opened yet. NYSE’s main trading session is 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Schedules from both NYSE and Nasdaq show July 3, not July 9, as the 2026 Independence Day market holiday. So Thursday is set for a normal trading day.
Futures traded mixed ahead of the open. Dow E-minis lost 69 points, or 0.13%, while S&P 500 E-minis added 11.25 points, or 0.15%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis climbed 198.5 points, or 0.67%, as of 7:36 a.m. ET, according to Reuters.
This is in focus now as tech stocks try to keep a bid with Middle East tensions, Fed hawkish chatter, and labor numbers all in play. Jobless claims dropped by 2,000 to 215,000 for the week ended July 4, according to the Labor Department.
Chip stocks led early gains. The iShares Semiconductor ETF was up 2.4% premarket, according to Reuters. That move helped blunt losses from IBM, which fell 3.8%, and Microsoft, down 1.5%. The drop came after a report said Starbucks is using artificial intelligence to rely less on both companies’ software.
Meta Platforms fell 1.2% after Reuters said the company will start making its own AI chip in September. Meta wants to boost its computing power and reduce how much it relies on chipmakers like Nvidia and AMD.
Geopolitics made for choppy trading. The U.S. military launched fresh strikes on Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and Iran hit back with attacks on Gulf states, Reuters said. Mark Haefele, CIO at UBS Global Wealth Management, said the road to a lasting deal is “likely to be bumpy,” but both sides still want to keep shipping lanes open. Reuters
Oil prices inched up. Brent crude was last up 0.68% at $78.55 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate added 0.53% to $73.91, according to Reuters. Saxo Bank’s Ole Hansen said it’s “a very nervous market,” while Aneeka Gupta at WisdomTree expects Brent to trade between $75 and $85 in the next month. Higher oil could hit inflation and margins if the move sticks. Reuters
The Fed is another factor. Minutes out Wednesday showed some policymakers pushed for a rate hike in June before the group settled on keeping rates steady. The Fed held its main rate at 3.50%-3.75%. Nine out of 18 policymakers projected a slightly higher rate by year-end. One basis point equals one-hundredth of a percentage point.
The weekly jobless claims gave some relief from growth worries for now. Continuing claims were up 8,000 at 1.814 million for the week ended June 27. Reuters reported economists still call the labor market “slow hire, slow fire,” not in sharp trouble. Reuters
Consumer stocks told their own demand story. PepsiCo came in ahead of second-quarter revenue forecasts, with gains from zero-sugar drinks and protein snacks, but shares dropped about 1% premarket on weaker North American food sales. CEO Ramon Laguarta said the company’s results were hurt by “consumer budgets tightening.” eMarketer’s Suzy Davidkhanian called Pepsi’s job now “keeping them relevant.” Reuters
Levi Strauss dropped 4.4% in premarket trading. The company bumped up its annual sales outlook, but that wasn’t enough for investors. The reaction signals little appetite for forecasts that just squeak by, as second-quarter earnings season gets rolling.
But things could flip fast. A new disruption in Hormuz could send oil up again and stoke inflation worries while the Fed is still talking about another rate hike. If earnings, especially for AI tech, miss early, it could show the Nasdaq rebound is just a head fake after the latest slide.
Early trading sent mixed signals. Chips pushed Nasdaq futures higher, but software losses weighed on the Dow. Oil prices and a tough Fed outlook left the broader open looking hesitant.
