US markets today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures indicate mix open; Sandisk, SpaceX, Cloudflare others in focus

Investors will monitor SpaceX shares as the billionaire Elon Musk-led company’s first lock-up period post IPO expires on August 6, giving early investors an opportunity to sell shares, potentially powering the volumes in the market.

Investing.com data showed that Dow Jones futures were trading 0.14% higher at 54,574 points ahead of the opening bell on Thursday, indicating a more than 200-point higher opening on August 6.

The S&P 500 index futures were trading 0.07% higher at 7,754.75 points before the market opening on August 6, indicating around a 30-point higher open on Thursday’s US market session.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were trading 0.64% lower at 29,424.75 points ahead of the US market open, indicating a marginally lower opening on Thursday’s trading session, when compared to the previous market close levels.

Key things to watch before US market opens

US markets recap

The US benchmark indices ended on a mixed note with the Dow Jones closing higher amid healthy company earnings growth, while tech and chipmaking stocks dragged the S&P 500 and Nasdaq down.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.49% higher at 54,349.12 points after the trading session on Wednesday, compared to 54,085.88 points at the previous equity market close, according to the exchange data.

In contrast, S&P 500 index closed 0.17% lower at 7,723.55 points after the stock market session on August 5, compared to 7,736.52 points at the previous equity market close, as per the exchange data.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index lost 0.83% after the trading session on Wednesday, closing at 29,487.79 points, in comparison to 29,733.16 points at the previous Wall Street close.

US stocks to watch

Asian markets today

US market investors focused on the heavy selloff cues from the Asian markets after the benchmark indices in the East ended lower due to drop in heavyweight stocks like SK Hynix, Samsung, and Tokyo Electron among several others.

MarketWatch data showed that Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed 0.93% lower, South Korea’s KOSPI ended 4.5% lower, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended 1.49% lower after the trading session on Thursday.

In contrast, other major indices like China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.5% higher, and Singapore’s FTSE gained 1.03% as of the closing session on August 6.

Oil prices back to $80/barrel

Global crude oil prices surged back to $80 per barrel (bbl) on Thursday’s market session as commodity market investors focus on the uncertainty related to the deal between Iran and Oman which will decide the fate of the key trading route, Strait of Hormuz.

Latest reports from CNN suggest that the deal would likely not mean that the key trading route will be reopened automatically. So far direct talks with the United States are denied by Iran amid two ship attacks near Red Sea.

At 5:52 pm (IST), global benchmark Brent crude oil prices were trading $80.47 per bbl on Thursday’s evening market hours, compared to $79.45 per bbl at the previous commodity market close.

The data also showed that the energy prices have surged 12% in the last one month, and were trading 9.2% lower in the last one week period.