Nasdaq, Dow, S&P 500 Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Key Earnings Week Even As Middle East Tensions Continue: DJT, NVDA, SLS, PANW Stocks In Focus

U.S. stock futures climbed higher in the overnight session late Sunday ahead of a key earnings week, even as the conflict between the U.S. and Iran escalated over the weekend.

Nasdaq-100 futures climbed 0.45%, Dow futures were up 0.04%, and S&P 500 futures rose 0.14% at 9:11 PM EDT.

All three benchmark indexes closed lower on Friday amid a selloff in chip stocks and growing concerns over AI spending. The Nasdaq Composite led the declines, shedding more than 360 points to close 1.40% lower. The S&P 500 was down 1.01%, while the Dow closed 0.77% lower.

The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow indexes also posted the worst week this quarter, tumbling nearly 3%, 1.55% and nearly 1%, respectively.

Additionally, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) tumbled nearly 9% last week as Taiwan Semiconductor’s capex hike weighed heavily on chipmakers.

Chief market technician at BTIG, Jonathan Krinsky, said semiconductor companies could slip even further from here. “They could certainly bounce here in the short term, but we don’t see signs of (any) kind of that real big washout that you’re looking for,” Krinsky told CNBC on Friday.

U.S. markets recovered overnight ahead of Monday, as investors watch for key earnings results this week. Two “Magnificent Seven” members, Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) and Tesla Inc. (TSLA), are slated to report their second-quarter (Q2) results on Wednesday. Meanwhile, chip giant Intel Corp. (INTC) will also report its Q2 results later this week, on Thursday.

Meanwhile, tensions in the Middle East escalated over the weekend, with the U.S. launching its ninth consecutive strike on Iran late Sunday.

“CENTCOM began conducting a new wave of strikes against Iran at 7 p.m. ET today for the ninth consecutive night. The strikes will continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” the U.S. Central Command said in a post on X.

Over the weekend, a third U.S. service member died in the recent conflict in the Middle East. After initially reporting two deaths and one missing service member following an Iranian attack in Jordan on July 17, CENTCOM said that U.S. forces later confirmed the death of the third member.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in a post on X, “The U.S. attack on the under-construction facilities of the Darquoin power plant is a dangerous assault on Iran's peaceful infrastructure and fully implicates the U.S. government in the consequences stemming from heightened insecurity and instability. Iran, while issuing a resolute condemnation of this aggression, will take appropriate measures to defend its national interests and security.”

Meanwhile, oil prices soared amid the flare-up of conflict between the two nations, rising above $90 a barrel.