Pre-Market Update: Alphabet and Tesla Spooked the Market — Now Oil Is Closing in on $100

TLDR

• US stock futures fell Thursday, with Dow and S&P 500 futures down around 0.3% and Nasdaq-100 futures dropping 0.4%
• Alphabet and Tesla both flagged heavy AI and capex spending plans, pressuring their shares in pre-market trading
• Brent crude jumped to $97 per barrel as Middle East tensions escalated, with Houthis attacking Red Sea tankers
• Treasury yields hit their highest levels since May as rising oil prices reignited inflation fears
• Jobless claims dropped to 187,000, the lowest level since 1969, far below the 215,000 economists expected

---

US stock futures slipped Thursday morning as investors processed earnings from two of the biggest names in tech and watched oil prices push toward a key level.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both fell around 0.3%. Nasdaq-100 futures dropped 0.4%.

The moves followed a rough Wednesday session on Wall Street, where stocks pulled back after a wave of earnings reports.

Alphabet and Tesla Weigh on Tech

Alphabet reported a strong quarter, but its raised capital expenditure outlook rattled investors. Markets are closely watching how much Big Tech is spending on AI and whether those investments are paying off.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk called 2026 a “massive capex year” for the company. He pointed to Optimus robots, robotaxis, and data centers as the main areas of focus.

Both stocks were under pressure Thursday morning. They are part of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” group of large tech companies that carry heavy weight in major indexes.

The added spending from both companies has renewed questions about AI’s return on investment. That uncertainty is a key reason futures are lower.

Oil Prices Climb as Middle East Conflict Widens

Brent crude futures jumped to $97 per barrel Thursday. That is closing in on the $100 mark, which would be a psychologically important level for markets.

West Texas Intermediate rose to $89 per barrel. The move came after Iran-backed Houthi forces said they attacked tankers in the Red Sea, escalating the wider US-Iran conflict.

Rising oil prices pushed Treasury yields higher. The 10-year and 30-year yields hit their highest levels since May, raising fresh concerns about inflation.

Higher yields also pushed back on expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates. Some investors had been pricing in rate cuts later this year.

Jobless Claims Hit Lowest Level Since 1969

One bright spot in Thursday’s data was the jobless claims report. Only 187,000 Americans filed for initial unemployment benefits in the week ending July 18.

That is down 22,000 from the previous week and well below the 215,000 economists had forecast. It is the lowest reading since May 1969.

The all-time low for US jobless claims on record is 162,000, set in November 1968.

Much of the drop came from New York, which reported nearly 17,000 fewer claims than the week before. Stephen Stanley, chief US economist at Santander, said the data follow seasonal patterns and reflect the unwinding of elevated June readings.

He noted that layoffs have actually run slightly lower this year than in the past several years.

Investors are also watching earnings Thursday from Intel, T-Mobile US, and Lockheed Martin.