United States stock futures traded modestly higher on Thursday night (Friday AEST) as investors turned their attention to the highly anticipated public debut of SpaceX while continuing to assess developments in negotiations between the United States and Iran.
By 10:20 am AEST (12:20 am GMT), Dow Jones futures were up 0.1%, S&P 500 futures had gained 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were 0.4% higher.
In extended deals, Adobe slipped 5.5% after reporting that its fiscal second-quarter non-GAAP operating margin came in at 44%, slightly below the 44.5% estimate, according to LSEG, while also announcing that CFO Dan Dunn would depart on 15 June to pursue a new opportunity, despite the company posting an overall beat on both the top and bottom lines in its latest quarter.
The cautious gains followed a rally on Wall Street during Thursday's regular session, driven by a rebound in semiconductor stocks and optimism surrounding a potential peace agreement between the United States and Iran.
The S&P 500 climbed 1.75%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 2.54%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 929.97 points, or 1.86%.
Investor sentiment improved after President Donald Trump indicated that a diplomatic breakthrough with Iran could be imminent.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said a deal between Washington and Tehran would have a “signing soon, and the documents are in pretty final shape. It should be done and it should be done pretty quickly.”
The president added that under the proposed agreement, “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”
Markets had already moved higher earlier in the session after Trump announced on Truth Social that he had cancelled military strikes against Iran that had been scheduled for Thursday evening.
Attention is now shifting to what is expected to be one of the most closely watched stock market debuts in history.
SpaceX, Elon Musk's rocket and spacecraft manufacturer, is scheduled to begin trading on the Nasdaq on Friday under the ticker symbol SPCX.
The company has priced its shares at US$135 each, implying a market valuation of approximately $1.77 trillion.
The offering is expected to raise $75 billion through the sale of 555.6 million shares, making it the largest initial public offering ever completed. The fundraising would be more than three times the size of the $22 billion IPO completed by Alibaba in 2014, which currently holds the record for the largest U.S. public offering.
Investors will also monitor fresh economic data on Friday, with the preliminary June reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index due for release.
