Middle East optimism lifts sentiment as SpaceX and AMD earnings dominate attention: Dow Jones, S&P, Nasdaq, Wall Street Futures

US stock futures edged higher on Wednesday as investors reacted to renewed hopes of easing tensions in the Middle East, while corporate earnings from SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) drove significant pre-market trading.

Although geopolitical developments supported overall market sentiment, investors also assessed company-specific news, particularly Elon Musk’s latest comments, which weighed on both SpaceX and AMD shares.

Futures advance as hopes grow for Hormuz agreement

By 03:09 ET (07:09 GMT), Dow futures had risen 156 points, or 0.3%, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.4% and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.3%.

Wall Street closed higher in the previous session after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested an agreement with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached soon. Officials from Qatar also expressed optimism over ongoing diplomatic negotiations.

Lower oil prices added to the positive mood, easing concerns that higher energy costs could reignite inflation and prompt further interest rate increases. US Treasury bonds also strengthened as yields declined, although gains moderated after Kansas City Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Schmid argued that returning inflation to the Fed’s 2% target would require “tighter policy.”

Strong earnings also continued to support sentiment. Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) surged nearly 30% after raising its full-year revenue forecast, with Chief Executive Alex Karp describing quarterly sales growth as “otherworldly.” Snap (NYSE:SNAP) also moved sharply higher after reporting a narrower quarterly loss, while Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) gained more than 5% after improving its 2026 sales outlook.

Technology stocks remained well supported, with Deutsche Bank noting that investors appeared “increasingly willing to lean back into the capex theme that looked under pressure” during July’s market volatility as demand for AI infrastructure remained resilient.

Trump signals progress in Iran negotiations

US President Donald Trump said the White House had held “very good” discussions with Iran during Tuesday’s negotiations, raising expectations that months of tensions in the Gulf could be nearing a resolution.

Speaking to Fox News, Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would be “open very soon” and warned that Iran would “get hit really hard” if it withdrew from a potential agreement.

Even so, market participants remain cautious after several previous diplomatic breakthroughs failed to produce lasting agreements.

“Markets have seen plenty of false dawns throughout this conflict, so plenty of attention will be on whether a deal is announced imminently and its details,” Deutsche Bank analysts said.

Brent crude later traded around 0.8% higher at $80.01 a barrel after falling below $80 during the previous session.

SpaceX shares fall despite strong revenue growth

SpaceX shares dropped more than 7% in extended trading following the company’s first earnings report since its June public listing.

Although second-quarter revenue jumped 92% to $7.8 billion and losses narrowed, investors focused on sharply negative free cash flow as capital expenditure accelerated.

The company invested $18.36 billion during the second quarter, including $15.8 billion allocated to its AI division. Meanwhile, revenue from its satellite internet business rose 66% to $4.3 billion as the number of Starlink subscribers doubled.

Chief Executive Elon Musk reiterated his long-term ambitions, targeting eventual annual revenue of $1 trillion and suggesting the company could begin launching data centres into orbit as early as next year.

“[T]he revenue and EBITDA results are great, but the cash flow numbers are pretty ugly,” analysts at Vital Knowledge said.

AMD pressured despite record quarterly sales

Advanced Micro Devices shares also declined in after-hours trading after Musk announced that SpaceX would exclusively use Nvidia’s Blackwell AI servers instead of purchasing AMD processors.

Musk said Nvidia offered the “best architecture” and confirmed SpaceX would “build exclusively” on the company’s latest AI platform.

The announcement overshadowed AMD’s latest financial results.

The chipmaker reported quarterly revenue of $11.5 billion for the period ended 27 June, slightly ahead of Wall Street expectations and marking its fifth consecutive quarter of record sales.

Data centre revenue climbed to a record $6.7 billion, representing 58% of total revenue compared with 42% a year earlier, highlighting AMD’s growing exposure to AI infrastructure spending.

Novo Nordisk slips after Wegovy sales disappoint

Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) increased its full-year guidance, forecasting smaller declines in annual sales and operating profit than previously expected as demand for its weight-loss treatments remained robust.

However, both its US-listed and Copenhagen-listed shares fell after second-quarter sales of the oral version of Wegovy failed to meet analyst expectations and an experimental next-generation obesity treatment produced disappointing clinical trial results.

The company now expects adjusted sales and operating profit to decline by up to 6% at constant exchange rates this year, improving from its previous guidance for declines of between 4% and 12%.

Sales of oral Wegovy reached 3.2 billion Danish kroner during the second quarter, below analysts’ expectations of 3.3 billion kroner, while injectable Wegovy generated 19.48 billion kroner in revenue.

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