US STOCKS-S&P, Dow futures edge lower on Middle East stalemate

‌S&P ​and Dow futures ticked lower on Wednesday, stalling near record highs, as rising crude oil prices weighed on sentiment, with a flare-up in the Middle East conflict signaling little progress in efforts to end the months-long war. Brent crude futures rose over 2% to $98.30 a ‌barrel after an Iranian missile attack damaged Kuwait's airport and the U.S. military carried out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, raising the risk of further supply disruption that could stoke broader inflation.

‌S&P ​and Dow futures ticked lower on Wednesday, stalling near record highs, as rising crude oil prices weighed on sentiment, with a flare-up in the Middle East conflict signaling little progress in efforts to end the months-long war.

Brent crude futures rose over 2% to $98.30 a ‌barrel after an Iranian missile attack damaged Kuwait's airport and the U.S. military carried out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, raising the risk of further supply disruption that could stoke broader inflation. "It is not in the interest of either the U.S. or Iran to go back towards fighting and bombing. Our base case scenario remains that we would be moving towards a ‌deal; even if it's a fudge to get the Strait of Hormuz opened," Jefferies economist Mohit Kumar wrote in a note.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that ‌Iran had agreed to not have a nuclear weapon. Hopes for an end to the war, alongside a run of upbeat corporate updates, have underpinned Wall Street's rally to record highs.

Markets have also been boosted by recent developments that have reinforced expectations of sustained AI spending. Earlier this week, Nvidia launched new chips for PCs, while Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise topped earnings forecasts and Alphabet said it planned to raise $80 billion to fund its AI expansion.

Marvell ⁠Technology soared ​11.4% in premarket trading to top $290 billion in market ⁠value, extending gains a day after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called the chipmaker the next "trillion-dollar company." Broadcom shares rose 2.5% ahead of the company's quarterly report due after market close. The results would be the next key ⁠test of AI-driven momentum, with the firm's shares rising 14% in the past four sessions.

Elon Musk's SpaceX plans to fix its IPO price at $135 per share ahead of its roadshow to raise a ​record-setting $75 billion, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. The listing leads a wave of high-profile private companies preparing to test public markets, including Anthropic and OpenAI, ⁠after years of muted large-cap IPO activity.

At 06:25 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 181 points, or 0.35%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 8.5 points, or 0.11%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 42.25 points, or 0.14%. All three ⁠major ​stock indexes closed at record highs on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 finishing above 7,600 for the first time.

Investors are awaiting upcoming economic data, including S&P Global's manufacturing and services surveys and the ISM services index, ahead of Friday's closely watched labor market report, which could shape expectations for monetary policy. Money markets expect the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates ⁠on hold for the remainder of the year, with growing odds of a 25 bps rate hike in October or December.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh pledged to follow "the best ⁠of the Fed's traditions" in a note to ⁠staff at the start of his four-year term. Among other movers, asset managers dropped after Switzerland's Partners Group capped withdrawals from an $8.6 billion private equity fund.

KKR and Blackstone were down 5.8% and 3.9%, respectively, while Blue Owl and Ares Management fell about 3% each. Gamestop advanced 9.1% ‌after posting a rise in quarterly ‌revenue and unveiling a $2 billion share buyback program.