S&P 500 futures were little changed early Friday, following a tough session in which a sharp spike in oil prices and lackluster earnings from two megacap companies pressured the broader equity market.
S&P 500 futures were flat. Nasdaq-100 futures declined 0.26%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures traded 20 points lower.
In regular trading, the Dow dropped more than 500 points, or around 1%, for its fifth negative day in six. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq had their worst one-day performances since June 23, dropping 1.2% and 2.2%, respectively.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.79% while the Topix slipped 1%. The Kospi dropped over 5%, and the small-cap Kosdaq declined 4.95%. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was 0.95% lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 1.33% and mainland China’s CSI 300 declined 1.4%.
Brent crude futures topped $100 per barrel for the first time since late May, soaring about 7% on Thursday. West Texas Intermediate futures advanced roughly 6% on the day, after two Saudi oil tankers were reportedly struck in the Red Sea. Prices were slightly higher in Friday Asia trading.
“While current positioning does not guarantee that oil will continue rising, it does mean that the market entered the latest escalation poorly positioned for an upside surprise,” Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial. “And when sentiment and positioning are extremely bearish, even a modest deterioration in supply expectations can produce an outsized price response.”
Quarterly results from Tesla and Alphabet also weighed on the broader market. Tesla tumbled nearly 15% — its worst day since March 10, 2025 — after posting an earnings miss for the second quarter. Alphabet hiked its full-year guidance for capital expenditures, leading the tech giant to a 7% loss. That’s its biggest daily decline since May 7, 2025.
Thursday’s moves put the major averages on pace for weekly declines. The Dow and S&P 500 have shed 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively. The Nasdaq has underperformed, losing 1.5%.
SAP shares rise in pre-market trading after cloud order backlog soars
Shares in SAP advanced 3% in pre-market trading after the German multinational software giant reported a 27% jump in its cloud order backlog year-over-year, surging to 22.9 billion euros ($26.1 billion) in the second quarter.
The Frankfurt-listed name — the world’s largest non-U.S. software company — netted revenues of 9.88 billion euros, outflanking LSEG forecasts of 9.86 billion.
— Hugh Leask
Europe’s stock markets set to open Friday in mixed territory
European stock markets are expected to open the final trading day of the week with mixed performance.
The U.K. FTSE 100 is seen opening 0.17% lower, with the French CAC 40 up 0.22%. Germany’s DAX is also expected to begin the session 0.19% higher. The Italian FTSE MIB was down 0.21% ahead of the opening bell.
Stoxx 50 futures were hovering just below the flatline.
—Hugh Leask
Treasury yields flat after oil spike, AI spending sent them higher in prior session
U.S. Treasury yields were flat in Asia trading on Friday, after a sharp rise in the previous session.
The 10-year Treasury yield was trading flat at 4.705%, while the 30-year yield was also little changed at 5.175%.
Yields had jumped Thursday as Brent crude rose past $100 per barrel and raised inflation fears, with mild weekly claims data further dimming hopes of a rate cut.
Treasury yields are rising as investors contend with higher inflation expectations from surging oil prices and mounting borrowing needs tied to the AI spending boom, according to Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers.
He added in a note on Friday that elevated oil prices and heavier AI spending prospects are stressing the bond market, while “heavy credit demand associated with funding monumental technological ambitions” is adding upward pressure on rates.
—Lee Ying Shan
Brent crude holds near $100 as Houthi tanker attacks deepen supply concerns
Oil prices were slightly higher in Friday Asia hours, after surging in the previous session following Houthi attacks on tankers in the Red Sea.
Brent crude futures for September deliver were up 0.26% at $100.26 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed at $92.26 a barrel.
Brent futures crossed the $100 per barrel mark for the first time since May 26 on Thursday, gaining about 7% to close at $100.69.
Benjamin Jones, global head of research at Invesco, said the latest Houthi attacks on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea have heightened the risk that another key export route could be disrupted, after Saudi Arabia had relied on its East-West pipeline to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
“Markets fear that the Red Sea route will see more limited traffic and jeopardize oil flows,” he wrote, adding that crude prices are likely to remain “near or above $100 per barrel over the coming months” as long as shipping disruptions persist and tensions show little sign of easing.
— Lee Ying Shan
Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC reports lowest 20-year annualized return in six years
Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC’s return fell for a third consecutive year to a six-year low in FY2025/2026, amid what it called “profound uncertainty” as it took less risk with resilience in mind.
GIC said its 20-year annualized real rate of return stood at 3.4%, lower than the 3.8% the year before. This is also the lowest since financial year 2019/2020’s 2.7%, according to CNA.
The sovereign wealth fund uses a rolling 20-year metric as its primary performance indicator, which measures average annual returns over the most recent two decades.
— Justina Lee
Korea Exchange briefly halts Kospi trading, as stocks tank
The Korea Exchange activated a sell-side sidecar on the Kospi, temporarily halting program trading, as South Korean stocks plunged.
A sell-side sidecar is triggered when the Kospi 200 futures index falls 5% or more for at least one minute, stopping trading for 5 minutes.
—Justina Lee
Mainland China and Hong Kong markets open lower
Mainland China and Hong Kong stock benchmarks fell early Friday, tracking broad losses in Asian markets amid concerns over higher oil prices, Middle East tensions as well as U.S. President Donald Trump‘s fresh tariffs.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.88%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was 0.96% lower.
—Justina Lee
Japan core inflation rate in June creeps up from 4-year low as higher oil prices bite
Japan’s core inflation came in at 1.6% in June, data published on Friday showed, as higher oil prices start to spill over into the wider economy.
This is the first rise in core inflation since March, and was in line with the 1.6% growth expected by economists polled by Reuters. Core inflation in Japan strips out prices of fresh food.
Headline inflation increased to 1.7% from May’s 1.5%, while the so-called “core-core” inflation rate, which strips out prices of fresh food and energy, dipped to 1.7%, the lowest since August 2022. Cushioned by government subsidies, energy prices dipped just 0.1% year-on-year in June, compared with a 2.5% fall in May.
While Japan has rolled out subsidies to mitigate the impact of the global jump in energy prices for consumers, businesses have seen a sharp rise in costs due the price spikes, with the producer price index for June hitting 7.1%, highest level since March 2023.
—Lim Hui Jie
SK Hynix shares drop over 3% as tech stocks slide; SoftBank sinks over 7%
SK Hynix shares fell 3.5% Friday in Seoul amid a broader decline in Asia tech stocks and following a Bloomberg report that the chipmaker had fully exhausted its 2.5% cap on converting local shares into U.S. American Depositary Receipts.
The Korea Securities Depository said that the company’s 2.5% cap on converting Seoul-listed shares into American Depositary Receipts was fully used up during its $26.5 billion U.S. offering on July 10, according to Bloomberg.
The restriction halts arbitrage trading, leaving investors unable to narrow a massive price gap that saw SK Hynix’s U.S.-listed ADRs trade at a premium of up to 51% over its Seoul shares.
Samsung shares were down nearly 4%, and SoftBank Group fell 7.5%. Japan’s Advantest was down over 6%, Tokyo Electron dropped 4.5%, and Renesas fell 4%.
—Jenny Lee
Japanese and South Korean stocks drop 1% on higher oil, Mideast tensions
Asia-Pacific markets traded lower early Friday, as higher oil prices and Iran-U.S. tensions kept investors on edge.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2% while the Topix slipped 1%.
The Kospi dropped 1.8% at open, while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 2.17%.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was 0.47% lower.
—Justina Lee
Asia-Pacific markets set to open sharply lower on higher oil, Mideast tensions
Asia-Pacific markets were on course to open lower Friday, as rising oil prices and Mideast tensions dent investor sentiment, while U.S. President Donald Trump is set to impose fresh global tariffs.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was poised to decline, with the Chicago futures contract at 65,575 and its Osaka counterpart last trading at 65,430, compared with the index’s previous close of 66,422.60.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were last at 24,885, lower than the index’s last close of 25,210.81.
In Australia, futures for S&P/ASX 200 last traded at 8,750, while the index closed at 8,839.
According to a notice in the U.S. Federal Register, new tariffs will be imposed by the Trump administration just after midnight ET Friday on dozens of countries over alleged forced-labor violations. Those tariffs, which will apply to 60 trade partners, cover 99.4% of U.S. trade, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a fact sheet Thursday afternoon.
—Justina Lee
U.S. to impose ‘sweeping’ new tariffs on 60 countries
The Trump administration will impose new tariffs just after midnight ET on 60 countries over alleged forced-labor violations, senior administration officials said Thursday.
The duties, set between 10% and 12.5%, will effectively replace President Donald Trump‘s temporary 10% global tariffs, which are set to expire at the same time as the new ones take effect.
The forthcoming tariffs will apply to 60 trade partners and will cover over 99% of U.S. trade. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative told CNBC it could not provide an estimate of how much revenue the new tariffs will generate.
— Kevin Breuninger, Ashlee Trujillo
Intel, Boston Beer among stocks making moves after the bell
- Intel — The chipmaker rallied 9% after it reported its sharpest quarterly revenue growth in nearly 15 years. The company’s top line clocked in at $16.1 billion for Q2, 25% above the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings per share of 42 cents per share also beat analyst expectations.
- Boston Beer – The maker of Twisted Tea added 2%. Second quarter revenue of $568.3 million narrowly beat the FactSet consensus call of $566.7 million. Boston Beer also reaffirmed its full-year earnings guidance of $8.50 to $10.50 per share, versus the consensus estimate of $9.38.
— Fred Imbert, Darla Mercado
