US STOCKS-Wall st set to open higher as chip stocks gain; US-Iran tensions in focus

Wall Street's main indexes were poised to open higher on Thursday, driven by gains in chip stocks, despite renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

‌Wall ​Street's main indexes were on track to open higher on Thursday, as gains in chip stocks helped offset renewed geopolitical jitters after fresh exchange of attacks threatened to prolong the U.S.-Iran conflict and keep markets volatile.

The U.S. military said ‌on Wednesday it had launched new strikes on Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping. Iran responded with attacks on U.S. assets in Kuwait and Bahrain. President Donald Trump, who had warned that the interim ceasefire was "over," also eased some of the market's fears and said he did not expect a return to full-fledged ‌war despite the breakdown.

Chip stocks provided support to futures, continuing their rebound from the previous session. The iShares Semiconductor ETF gained 4.4% in premarket trading. Still, sentiment ‌toward AI-linked stocks has come under pressure in recent sessions amid concerns about the durability of a rally that has helped drive Wall Street gains this year, while Middle East tensions simmered in the background.

"We've had a very strong first half in the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, primarily driven by memory-storage providers," said Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at iFOREX. "There are concerns about their ⁠ability to ​continue generating the record levels of revenues ⁠and profits they're currently producing and when you throw in a breakdown of the ceasefire in the Middle East, you've got a toxic combination."

IBM and Microsoft fell 4.5% and 1.5%, respectively. A report ⁠said Starbucks had tapped AI to reduce its reliance on both companies. Other software shares also slipped, with ServiceNow and Adobe down 4.3% and 3.5%, respectively.

Meta Platforms fell 4% after ​Reuters, citing an internal memo, reported that the company plans to make an artificial intelligence chip from September. At 8:52 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were ⁠up 21 points, or 0.04%, and S&P 500 E-minis were up 17 points, or 0.22%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 268.5 points, or 0.91%.

The renewed tensions between U.S. and Iran forced stock investors to ⁠reassess ​recent optimism that an eventual resolution could support risk assets. The S&P 500 and Dow ended Wednesday's session lower, while the Nasdaq eked out a marginal gain. On the data front, the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, suggesting the labor market remained stable despite a slowdown in job ⁠growth in June.

Under new Chair Kevin Warsh, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at its June meeting, but minutes released on Wednesday showed a few ⁠policymakers saw a case for raising borrowing ⁠costs before ultimately agreeing to hold steady. Traders are pricing in at least one 25-basis-point rate hike by the end of the year, according to LSEG data.

Levi Strauss slipped 4%, even after the denim maker raised its annual sales forecast, ‌while PepsiCo fell 2% despite ‌the snacks and soda giant beating second-quarter revenue estimates.