Stock futures headed for a lower open Tuesday, with technology shares leading declines, while Treasury yields continued to rise as a lack of progress on talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz raised fears of higher-for-longer oil prices.
Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed down 1.2%, 0.4%, and 0.1% respectively, in recent trading.
Yesterday, the blue-chip Dow, benchmark S&P 500, and tech-focused Nasdaq Composite closed lower to begin the trading week as oil prices rose on pessimism a deal between the U.S. and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would be reached soon.
Crude oil futures ticked higher Tuesday after the UK Maritime Trade Operations said a vessel was hit by an unknown projectile trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which resulted in a crew casualty. WTI futures, the U.S. benchmark, rose 0.7% to above $85 a barrel, while Brent futures, the international benchmark, advanced 0.3% to $91.15.
Bond yields, which have risen alongside oil prices amid inflation fears, continued their ascent Tuesday. The 10-year Treasury yield, which influences interest rates on a variety of consumer loans including mortgages, recently was at 4.74%. It earlier touched above 4.75%, up more than two basis points from Monday’s close and its highest level since January 2025. Meanwhile, the 30-year yield hit roughly 5.34%, its highest level since 2007.
Although memory stocks outperformed broader indexes yesterday, they were falling sharply before the bell Tuesday. The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM), which rose more than 5% Monday, was down 5.5% before the bell as components Sandisk (SNDK), Western Digital (WDC), SK Hynix (SKHY), Micron Technology (MU), and Seagate Technology (STX) sold off roughly 5% to 7%. The broader iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) was down 3.5%, pulled lower by declines of up to 5% from components Intel (INTC), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Applied Materials (AMAT).
Shares of the Magnificent Seven mega-cap tech firms were mostly lower premarket after each closed in the red yesterday. Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT), which led the septet lower Monday with respective declines of about 3.5% and 3%, slipped 1% further and rose less than 1%, respectively, before the bell.
In post-earnings moves, Home Depot (HD) and Amer Sports (AS) rose 1.5% and 2%, respectively, while U.S.-listed shares of Chinese tech firm Baidu (BIDU) fell 7%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, was little changed at 99.65. Bitcoin traded at around $64,200, down slightly over the past 24 hours. Gold futures were 0.5% lower at $4,450 an ounce.