Oil Prices and Middle East Tensions Weigh on US Stock Index Futures
US stock index futures were quiet on Thursday as investors weighed higher oil prices and the escalating tensions in the Middle East against strong corporate earnings.
Oil prices have been stuck in a tight range, with WTI up 0.23% after falling earlier in the session. Goldman Sachs analysts noted that increasing market adaptability to the conflict will likely continue to moderate the upside to crude prices, even in the case of prolonged disruptions in the Middle East.
The move comes as investors are closely watching the nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday for clues on the Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook. Benjamin Jones, global head of research at Invesco, expressed confidence that new disruptions will come this year, but noted that he is less concerned about higher yields.
On a separate note, NVIDIA fell 2.29% in premarket trading after its fourth-quarter revenue forecast fell short of Wall Street's expectations. In contrast, Shopify soared 23.76% after a strong annual revenue forecast.