U.S. stock futures were mixed Thursday, with Dow futures and S&P 500 futures edging higher while Nasdaq 100 futures slipped, as investors awaited the August PPI report due before the opening bell.
Pledging a $5,000 "Trump dividend" to citizens if the GOP maintains control of Congress, President Donald Trump also proposed renaming the Strait of Hormuz to "Trump Strait."
Additionally, Trump asserted that the war with Iran would conclude right after the midterm elections; however, economist Peter Schiff cautioned that delayed resolutions will drive interest rates and oil prices higher.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.85%, and the two-year bond was at 4.43%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool projections show markets pricing in a 60.2% likelihood of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates at its September meeting.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.20% |
| S&P 500 | 0.12% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.11% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.01% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were mixed in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was down 0.12% at $763.29, while the QQQ declined 0.13% to $715.35.
Stocks In Focus
Cooper Companies
- Cooper Companies Inc. (NASDAQ:COO) plunged 15.56% in premarket on Thursday after reporting mixed third-quarter financial results and cutting its FY26 guidance below estimates.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that COO maintains a weak price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a poor quality score.
American Eagle Outfitters
- American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE:AEO) declined 10.72% in premarket despite posting upbeat fiscal 2026 second-quarter results, which were fueled by a large tariff refund.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that AEO maintains a strong price trend in the short and medium terms but a weak trend in the long term, with a good value.
AeroVironment
- AeroVironment Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) rose 6.18% after posting first-quarter revenue of $480.49 million and adjusted earnings of 59 cents per share, both beating estimates.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that AVAV maintains a weak price trend in the long, short, and medium terms.
Adobe
- Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) was 0.27% lower as it is expected to report earnings after the closing bell. Analysts expect earnings of $6.09 per share on revenue of $6.69 billion.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that ADBE maintains a weak price trend in the long term but a strong trend in the short and medium terms, with a poor growth score.
Oracle
- Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) was down 0.39% as analysts expect it to post quarterly earnings of $1.74 per share on revenue of $19.14 billion after the closing bell.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that ORCL maintains a weak price trend in the long and medium terms but a strong trend in the short term, with a poor value.
Cues From Last Session
Health care, financial, and materials stocks led the losses as most S&P 500 sectors closed lower on Tuesday, though energy and utilities bucked the drop to finish higher.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Dow Jones | -0.77% | 52,380.66 |
| S&P 500 | -0.48% | 7,636.36 |
| Nasdaq Composite | -0.64% | 26,253.34 |
| Russell 2000 | -1.32% | 2,921.23 |
Insights From Analysts
Technology strategist Luke Lango views the U.S. stock market and economy as navigating an "acute phase" of a liquidity crisis driven by rising Treasury yields, Middle East geopolitical escalation, and energy-driven inflation risks.
Despite these macro headwinds, he outlines clear catalysts for relief and maintains high long-term conviction in growth sectors, particularly artificial intelligence.
Lango identifies four key drivers in his framework: the Federal Reserve, Japan’s central bank, structural AI debt, and most urgently, Middle East tension. He notes that oil is "the biggest and fastest-moving, and the only one capable of resolving quickly," stressing that "resolving it is sufficient to fix the crisis even if the other two remain nuisances."
He points out that the "de-escalation playbook already worked once this year," where a catalyst triggered a sharp drop in crude prices.
On tech and the economy, Lango remains strongly bullish on AI infrastructure. Addressing safety warnings, he argues that "even partial automation, well short of runaway superintelligence, is enough to sustain the infrastructure investment case."
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Thursday.
- Initial jobless claims for the week ending Sept. 5, August’s PPI, core PPI month-over-month, and PPI year-over-year data will all be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
- July’s monthly wholesale trade data and August’s existing home sales report will both be out by 10:00 a.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude Oil WTI futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.96% to hover around $96.97 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar fell 0.12% to hover around $4,396.43 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.05% lower at the 98.7630 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 2.00% lower at $78,071.78 per coin over the last 24 hours.
Asian markets were mixed on Thursday as Japan’s Nikkei 225 and India’s Nifty 50 indices rose. South Korea’s Kospi, China’s CSI 300, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and Australia’s ASX 200 indices fell. European markets were mixed in early trading.
See More: Top Momentum Stocks
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