US equity futures indicate a negative opening ahead of Friday's trading session, with Dow Jones futures trading 0.66% lower at 52,448 points, indicating a nearly 100-point gap-down opening due to selloff cues among global market investors. According to Investing.com, S&P 500 index futures were down 0.92% at 7,508 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures were trading 1.88% lower at 28,671 points, indicating around a 350-point lower opening when compared to the previous stock market close. This follows Thursday's session where all three benchmark indices ended with losses as investors focused on selloff cues in artificial intelligence and technology stocks against the backdrop of economic data and escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia.
Semiconductor stocks came under significant and intensified pressure in premarket trade, with Nasdaq futures tumbling about 1% as the broader selloff weighed heavily on technology shares. As per CNBC TV18, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF dropped 2.2%, led by a 4% decline in Arm Holdings, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. fell nearly 3.9%. The pressure was most evident across chipmakers, with SK Hynix ADR dropping another 7.1% in pre-market trading after ending Thursday's regular session 9% lower, signalling continued weakness in the chipmaking space before Wall Street opens. Micron Technology fell 4.9% in pre-market trading after closing 8% lower in the previous session, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) slipped 3.4% after losing 3.5% on Thursday. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) also came under heavy selling pressure, with several European semiconductor names trading lower alongside their US counterparts. However, software companies attracted buying interest, with Alphabet leading gains among the Magnificent Seven technology stocks.
Global market investors have been witnessing massive selling pressure from Asian and European markets, with Japan's Nikkei 225 losing 4.3%, Hong Kong's Hang-Seng down 1.7%, China's Shanghai Composite falling 3%, South Korea's KOSPI crashing 6.3%, and Singapore's FTSE ending 0.5% lower during Friday's trading session. According to MarketWatch, major indices like the FTSE 100, DAX, and CAC 40 were all trading lower during Friday's market session. Although chipmaking stocks like TSMC announced healthy Q2 results, the aggressive allocation to capital expenditure guidance was impacting sentiment and anxiety of an already cautious investor base. Global market investors have been concerned about the execution and sustainability of this AI and chipmaking push, which, along with pressure from energy prices and geopolitical risk, weighs down equity market sentiment.
Crude oil prices extended their winning streak for a fourth consecutive session as the conflict in the Middle East intensified after the United States launched fresh strikes on Iranian missile storage facilities and launch sites near the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures surged past $86 per barrel (bbl) on Friday due to the escalation between the United States and Iran, with Brent crude futures rising 33 cents, or 0.4%, to $85.28 a barrel after rallying 12% over the previous three sessions, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 42 cents, or 0.5%, to $80.02 a barrel. Both benchmark contracts had risen about 0.3% on Wednesday and continued to trade near one-month highs. Goldman Sachs said Brent crude could climb above $110 per barrel in the fourth quarter if disruptions to Gulf oil exports persist. The continued exchange of strikes between the US and Iran, coupled with renewed threats to the Strait of Hormuz, has effectively derailed the interim truce and revived fears of a broader regional conflict.
US producer prices rose 5.5% year-on-year, down from 6.5% previously, while on a monthly basis PPI fell 0.3%, following a 0.6% increase in May, according to Investing.com. The report suggests that lower energy costs continue to help ease pipeline inflation pressures. This follows yesterday's CPI report, which showed consumer prices fell on a monthly basis for the first time in six years, with the US consumer price index (CPI) inflation slowing to 3.5% in the 12-month period ended June 2026, below market expectations and representing a decrease from 4.2% in the 12-month period ended May 2026. As per Reuters, the Producer Price Index for final demand dropped 0.3% in June after a downwardly revised 0.6% increase in May, with economists polled by Reuters having forecast the PPI unchanged after a previously reported 1.1% advance in May.
In his inaugural congressional testimony, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh struck a resolute tone, reiterating that the central bank remains fully committed to aggressively crushing structural price pressures. According to Investing.com, the remarks served as a stern reminder to traders that monetary easing remains an extended distance away, keeping the threshold for corporate execution high. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, during his congressional testimony, alongside comments from Governor Chris Waller, stressed that policymakers need to see sustained evidence of disinflation before drawing firm conclusions. One or two encouraging inflation reports are unlikely to be enough, particularly as higher oil prices threaten to complicate the outlook in the months ahead. For now, financial markets continue to anticipate just one further Fed rate increase this year. If expectations for policy tightening continue to edge higher, the US dollar could remain supported and thus may also provide modest pressure on equity markets.
