Oct 9 (Reuters) – US stock index futures edged higher on Friday as oil prices retreated on easing Middle East supply concerns, though telecom shares remained under pressure after SpaceX’s spectrum acquisition raised competitive concerns across the sector.
Oil prices fell after US President Donald Trump said the country will not attack Iran before US midterm elections next month, easing fears that the conflict could further disrupt global energy supplies.
Brent crude prices were down 1.2%, but were still trading over the psychologically important $100-a-barrel mark. [O/R]
US Treasury yields were also calmer, with the benchmark 10-year yield steady at 5.25% but holding close to the 24-year high of 5.364% hit on Wednesday.
The benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were headed for weekly gains despite pulling back over the previous two sessions as optimism around an AI-driven third-quarter earnings season pushed both the indexes to record highs earlier this week.
The blue-chip Dow was on track for slim weekly gains.
Megacap growth stocks were broadly higher on the day, with Nvidia up 1.6% premarket, while Tesla and Amazon.com were higher by around 1% each.
SpaceX gained 3.7% after the rocket and satellite maker struck a deal to acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio, mounting a direct, orbital challenge to legacy wireless giants across the US.
Telecom firms traded lower, with T-Mobile US and AT&T falling over 6%, while Verizon was down 5.3%.
At 5:54 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 86 points, or 0.17%, and S&P 500 E-minis were up 31.5 points, or 0.4%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 251 points, or 0.81%.
The quarterly earnings season picks up pace next week with big banks set to report results. Optimism around strong earnings has buoyed US stocks lately despite shaky geopolitical developments and concerns about rising interest rates.
Among early movers, Humana climbed 14.5% after US government data showed 95% of the health insurer’s members were in Medicare Advantage plans rated four stars or higher for 2027.
Apple fell 1.8% after media reports that the iPhone maker has told some suppliers to cut production of components for its newly launched iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, as soaring memory chip costs and price increases dampen consumer demand.
(Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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