Sept 3 (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were muted on Thursday, as higher oil prices and the prospect of an escalating war in the Middle East kept investors on tenterhooks.
The moves could add to the gloom that has crept into markets after the latest round of military strikes between the U.S. and Iran despite some strong corporate results.
“Markets have absorbed a lot of disruption and held up better than many people expected. There have been points where panicking might have felt like a sensible thing to do,” said Benjamin Jones, global head of research at Invesco.
Oil prices were stuck within a tight range, with Brent crude last up 0.23% after falling earlier in the session.
“Increasing market adaptability to the conflict will likely continue to moderate the upside to crude prices, even in the case of prolonged disruptions in the Middle East,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a note.
U.S. Treasury yields eased as a bond market selloff slowed. High Treasury yields have pressured stocks in the last few weeks.
“I’m confident that the remainder of the year will bring new disruptions, but one disruption I’m less concerned about is higher yields,” Jones said.
Still, Broadcom fell 2.29% in premarket trading after its fourth-quarter revenue forecast fell short of Wall Street’s lofty expectations, underscoring that the companies at the center of the AI buildout have a high bar to clear.
At 5:42 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 89 points, or 0.17%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 3.75 points, or 0.05%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 11.75 points, or 0.04%.
Among other movers, Snowflake soared 23.76% after a strong annual revenue forecast.
The nonfarm payrolls report, due on Friday, is expected to be under close scrutiny for clues on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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