Stock futures fall as investors gear up for more earnings: Live updates

Stock futures slipped early Wednesday as investors braced for a busy slate of corporate earnings, while oil extended a recent rally amid escalating Middle East tensions and regional tech stocks posted notable gains. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 51 points, S&P 500 futures fell 0.12% and Nasdaq-100 futures were down 0.36%. In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi led gains, advancing over 5%, while the Kosdaq rose about 2% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.34%. Brent crude settled at $91.01 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate at $84.91, both up roughly 2%.

“Q2 earnings season is ramping up…”

“Q2 earnings season is ramping up, but with most hyperscalers yet to report, the market is still waiting for the definitive read on how AI investment is being monetized and translated into future capital spending,” said Julia Hermann, global market strategist at New York Life Investment Management.

Hermann’s remark captures investor focus ahead of a wave of results due Wednesday from major technology and industrial names, including ServiceNow, International Business Machines, Tesla, Texas Instruments, Alphabet and AT&T. Chipmakers helped underpin recent market rallies: the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) climbed 4% as investors rotated back into AI-related names, testing whether strong demand for AI infrastructure and software will justify elevated valuations.

• Equity futures: Dow futures -51 points; S&P 500 futures -0.12%; Nasdaq-100 futures -0.36%.
• Asia-Pacific moves: Kospi +5%+, Kosdaq +2%, Nikkei 225 +0.34%, Hang Seng -0.66%, CSI 300 +0.15%.
• Commodities: Brent crude $91.01/bbl; U.S. WTI $84.91/bbl (both up ~2%).

Regional headlines further shaped sentiment. Shares of Samsung Electronics rose more than 4% as the company was reported to be in talks to invest “hundreds of millions of euros” in AI startup Mistral in a funding round that could value the French firm at about 20 billion euros ($22.8 billion). Rival SK Hynix jumped over 5%, and Japanese chip names such as Advantest and Tokyo Electron gained 2.8% and 1.8% respectively, while Renesas Electronics and SoftBank Group added over 6% and 1.1%.

Geopolitical developments also pushed oil higher. U.S. strikes on Iranian military targets and concern over supply disruptions coincided with reports of mediation efforts proposing a 10-day ceasefire, sustaining elevated crude prices. Separate futures quotes showed Brent for September delivery at $92.10 and U.S. WTI at $85.26 in another snapshot of intraday moves.

Market structure and liquidity risks surfaced in Hong Kong: Herald van der Linde, head of equity strategy for Asia-Pacific at HSBC, warned of roughly $150 billion of IPO lock-up expiries due in October and November. “It doesn’t mean that these people have to sell. It’s just that they can sell,” he said, noting that sizeable cash exists to absorb supply but calling the expiries “some clouds hanging there.”

Other corporate and currency developments to watch include Topsports’ shares plunging more than 20% after Nike notified it would terminate online sales of Nike products in mainland China from 2027; Topsports CEO Yu Wu said the short-term impact “would be significant” but pledged continued offline cooperation. Meanwhile, Japan’s yen weakened to about 163.15 per dollar, prompting comments from market participants such as Dominic Schnider, head of commodities and APAC forex at UBS: “Intervention risks are basically a reality every day.”

Outlook: Investors will closely parse corporate reports for concrete evidence of sustained AI spending and cloud demand that could underpin tech valuations, while geopolitical risks and looming lock-up expiries add potential volatility to markets in the weeks ahead.