U.S. Stock Futures Nudge Higher as Oil Falls Below $100 — Update
By Joe StonorU.S. stock futures extended gains and oil prices fell back below $100 a barrel in early afternoon European trade, as investors brushed off stubbornly elevated Treasury yields to push equities higher.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 added 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively. Nasdaq futures nudged up 0.6% after the index closed at a record high in the previous session as 'Magnificent Seven' stocks drove the index higher. Large tech names extended gains premarket, with Nvidia rising another 1%, Tesla up 1.2% and Advanced Micro Devices 1.9% higher.Stocks gained across the board in Europe as the continent-wide Stoxx 600 rose 0.6% in early afternoon trade. Asian indexes closed largely higher with Japan's Nikkei 225 up 1.05%, though Korea's Kospi slipped 0.9% as the memory-chip stocks that dominate the index pulled back."The AI build-out is growing fast enough to help shield related companies and industries from rising yields," Swissquote's Ipek Ozkardeskaya wrote in a note.Brent crude slipped 2% to trade around $98.34 a barrel while WTI crude fell below $88 a barrel as Middle East exports increased, easing supply concerns. Tensions remain elevated, however, as Saudi and Yemeni forces launch a counteroffensive against Houthi militants in the strategic port city of Mokha.Easing oil prices weren't enough to prompt a significant fall in Treasury yields. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 3 basis points to 5.280%, having risen to 5.349% on Monday, the highest since 2002, according to Tradeweb.The 10-year German Bund yield declined 5.1 basis points to 3.445%. French and Italian bonds rallied, with the 10-year French OAT yield sliding 12 basis points to 4.758% and the Italian BTP yield declining 13 basis points to 4.543%.Traders await a $58 billion U.S. Treasury auction of three-year notes Tuesday.The dollar strengthened further against a basket of currencies. Gold prices were up 0.7% at around $4,169 a troy ounce, while bitcoin was 0.6% higher at $86,309.Write to Joe Stonor at [email protected]