Nasdaq-100 Futures Drop 0.8% as Brent Tops $92 Ahead of Big Tech Earnings

3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Jul 21

Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.8% early Wednesday, while S&P 500 and Dow futures slipped 0.3% and 0.2%, as investors braced for results from Tesla, Alphabet, IBM, Texas Instruments and other major companies.
Brent crude rose 2% to $92.89 and WTI gained 2% to $86.01 after the U.S. carried out an 11th straight night of strikes on Iran, deepening worries about supply disruption through the Strait of Hormuz.
Higher oil prices revived inflation concerns and lifted bets on tighter Fed policy, with money markets pricing a 24.1% chance of a July rate hike and a 69% chance of at least a quarter-point move in September.
Tuesday's rebound had briefly eased nerves after strong results from 3M and General Motors, while the VanEck Semiconductor ETF jumped 4% as investors rotated back into AI-linked chip stocks.
The next test for equities is whether hyperscalers and software groups can show AI spending is translating into revenue and future capital outlays, sustaining elevated tech valuations.