US markets today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures indicate gap-down open; Alibaba, Walmart, Coinbase in focus

Dow Jones futures were trading 0.46% lower at 53,283 points ahead of the opening bell on Thursday’s market, indicating a 180-point lower open in comparison to the previous US equity market close.

The S&P 500 index futures were trading 0.29% lower at 7,705.75 points ahead of the opening bell on August 20, indicating a flat or lower open on Thursday’s market, as per the exchange data.

The data also showed that Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.53% to 29,355 points ahead of Thursday’s open, indicating a 70-point lower opening when compared to the previous Wall Street close levels.

Key things to watch before US market opens

US Treasury buyback

On Wednesday evening, the US Department of Treasury announced that they are at least doubling the size of liquidity support buyback operations for longer-dated bonds 10 years to 20 years and 10 years to 30 years, according to the official filing.

“The current maximum size of $2 billion per operation will be at least $4 billion per operation,” said the US Treasury department.

The changes in buyback operations will be effective from September 9, 2026, and will be in effect for the remainder of this refunding quarter, through November 4, 2026, as per the filings data.

US Treasury's move aims to provide greater liquidity support in longer-dated nominal sectors where there is consistent strong sponsorship from market participants, as a significant volume of high-quality offers Treasury routinely receives in longer-dated buyback operations.

This move in turn cooled down the global bond yields on Thursday’s market, as investors focus on lowering borrowing costs in the market.

US stocks to watch today

US market recap of August 19

US equity market indices Dow Jones and S&P 500 ended higher, while the Nasdaq 100 ended lower as investors focused on elevated crude oil prices, tech sell-off cues from the Asian markets, and the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.22% higher at 53,463.05 points after the trading session on Wednesday, in comparison to 53,343.40 points at the previous equity market close, according to MarketWatch data.

The S&P 500 index ended 0.21% higher at 7,707.98 points after the trading session on August 19, in comparison to 7,691.76 points at the previous Wall Street close, as per the exchange data.

In contrast, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index closed 0.22% lower at 29,426.02 points lower after Wednesday’s trading session, compared to 29,490.96 points at the previous US equity market close.

Crude oil jumps over $94/barrel

Crude oil prices in the global market surged above $94 per barrel (bbl) during the trading session on Thursday, August 20, as commodity market investors focused on US President Donald Trump’s latest threat to Iran amid no signs of a near-term peace deal.

Investing.com data showed that crude oil prices surged over 3% to touch an intraday high of $94.30 per barrel on Wednesday’s market, in comparison to $91.62 per bbl at the previous market close.

The latest report from CNN showed that President Trump threatened a "crushing economic warfare” against Iran while the West Asian country dismissed the threat calling it a diversion and said that it will bring “further defeat.”

On the economic front, the US blockade of the Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz has resulted in making it more difficult for Iran to import goods into the country in turn reportedly increasing the prices in the nation.

In a response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned it could deploy more “destructive” weapons if the war restarted in West Asia.