Following President Donald Trump’s announcement that Israel and Lebanon had reached a three-week truce agreement, S&P futures were neutral early on Friday. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.66%, while S&P 500 futures were trading close to the flatline. Dow Jones Industrial Average-linked futures dropped 153 points, or 0.31%. Intel’s stock shot up 19% after hours. The chipmaker released a positive prediction for the current quarter along with first-quarter profits that exceeded Wall Street’s forecasts. Despite reaching fresh intraday highs on Thursday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 closed the day lower, shedding 0.9% and 0.4%, respectively. The index had its worst daily performance in almost a month as a result of the Nasdaq’s fall. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4%, or 180 points.
The market experienced much-needed optimism after Trump said that the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire would be extended. According to Trump, it came after a meeting with senior American officials at the White House. “The meeting was a huge success!” The president posted on Truth Social. He continued, referring to the militia group supported by Iran, “The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah.” Investors kept searching for indications that a peace agreement was being worked out under a precarious ceasefire. Due to both nations seizing commercial ships, the Middle East crisis has turned into a naval confrontation over the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump claimed to have given the U.S. Navy instructions to “shoot and kill any boat” that is planting mines in the strait. Even as traders try to ignore the violence and concentrate on corporate earnings reports, Thursday’s decline from all-time highs demonstrated that headlines from the Middle East may still have an impact on the market. On Thursday, semiconductor names surged as software equities fell. The iShares Semiconductor ETF recorded its seventeenth consecutive positive session. According to Cameron Dawson, she anticipates that the market’s leadership will continue to be limited. “This market is becoming more and more limited. At one point, it was a tale of all “Mag Seven” succeeding. She stated on Thursday afternoon, “Now it’s really just a story of semiconductors doing well.
Semiconductors, the most cyclical industry in the world, are growing at supernormal rates. This year, the stocks’ earnings will climb by 100%. How do you value that, I wonder? “The real question is how the market digests the super normal growth and if it thinks it can actually continue,” Dawson continued. Procter & Gamble Prior to Friday’s opening bell, Norfolk Southern, Charter Communications, and SLB will release their profits. Additionally, traders will keep an eye on the Michigan Sentiment index’s final number for April.