01 Stock Market
Stock futures were under pressure Thursday as oil prices added to their surge on supply disruption worries while the Iran war continued.
Dow futures fell 0.7%, S&P 500 futures slipped 0.6%, and Nasdaq 100 futures eased 0.5%. The pullback reflected higher crude prices and geopolitical tension lifting volatility, with investors tilting defensively ahead of the bell. Rate expectations were little changed, but a firmer dollar and rising energy complex kept cyclicals mixed and weighed lightly on growth benchmarks.
Notable Stock Movers: Energy-linked instruments and selective growth names were active in pre-market trading. HIMS up 5.68% at $27.35; USO up 3.93% at $112.30; UCO up 2.93% at $37.20; OXY up 1.80% at $56.58. China EV ADRs firmed: XPEV up 2.90% at $19.85; NIO up 2.19% at $5.59. Mega-cap tech was softer: NVDA down 0.40% at $185.28; MSFT down 0.31% at $403.63; AAPL down 0.03% at $260.74; ORCL down 0.38% at $162.50. TSLA edged up 0.14% at $408.39. CF Industries up 4%; Netskope down 17%; UiPath down 8%.
Oil’s advance pushed energy ETFs and producers higher while semiconductors and software were mixed, with some AI leaders easing after a strong run. Taiwan chip supply chain names were softer: TSM down 0.58% at $352.50. Among U.S. financial-adjacent growth, SOFI fell 1.13% at $18.32, while leveraged semiconductor ETFs diverged (SOXL down 1.66% at $55.16; SOXS up 2.04% at $38.50), underscoring choppy risk appetite ahead of the open.
02 Other Markets
• 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose 0.24%, to 4.22%.
• U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.08% to 99.29.
• WTI crude oil futures rose 4.73% to 91.38 USD/barrel; COMEX gold futures rose 5.00 USD/ounce.
03 Key News
Palantir, Nvidia to Provide Sovereign AI Operating System Architecture
Palantir Technologies (PLTR) and Nvidia (NVDA) are collaborating to deliver a sovereign AI operating system reference architecture that provides customers a complete AI data center from hardware procurement to application deployment.
The companies said the Palantir AI OS Reference Architecture, or AIOS-RA, delivers a complete, production-ready AI infrastructure. It is based on Nvidia's Enterprise Reference Architectures, tested and qualified to run Palantir's complete software suite — including Artificial Intelligence Platform, or AIP, Foundry, Apollo, Rubix, and AIP Hub.
Bumble Shares Rally on Earnings Beat, Optimism Around AI‑Led App Revamp
Bumble shares surged 21% in premarket trading on Thursday, as stronger‑than‑expected fourth‑quarter results and an AI‑focused overhaul of its dating app aimed at winning back younger users reignited investor optimism.
CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd's push for AI‑driven product revamp comes as Bumble attempts a closely watched turnaround in an online dating industry grappling with slower growth and "swiping fatigue" among younger users.
Chipmaking Tool Provider KLA Unveils Additional $7 Billion Share Buyback and Dividend Increase
Chipmaking tool provider KLA Corp on Thursday announced a new $7 billion stock buyback program and a 21% increase in its quarterly dividend, while reaffirming its forecast for the current quarter.
This buyback, with no specified timeframe, is in addition to the company's existing share repurchase authorization, which stood at $3.94 billion as of December 31, 2025.
Sources: Reuters, Dow Jones, Tiger Newspress, public market data
Disclaimer: For informational purposes only; not investment advice.
