U.S. stock futures were mostly lower in early European trade, while oil continued to pull back from its midweek spike following reports that peace talks between the U.S. and Iran are continuing.
Nasdaq futures were lower and European technology stocks slipped in early trade, as investors position cautiously ahead of SK Hynix's New York listing later Friday. Analysts are touting South Korean memory chip giant U.S. float as a fresh test of investor sentiment around artificial intelligence-linked companies.
The falls come even as U.S.-Iran talks over a permanent peace deal despite fresh escalations, The Wall Street Journal reported, though oil prices remain on track for a weekly gain of around 5%.
Signs of easing escalation helped U.S. Treasurys steady, while the dollar nudged down slightly. Japanese bond yields fell, supporting sovereign debt more broadly, after Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said the government will encourage pension funds to invest more in local financial assets, helping to reverse recent increases in yields.
--In early European trading, Brent crude fell 0.2% to $76.18 a barrel, while WTI was down 0.1% to $72.02 a barrel. "With oil prices softening following the midweek spike, traders appear to view the latest tensions as a challenge to the ceasefire rather than a complete breakdown, as Trump's comments earlier in the week briefly led markets to fear," analysts at Saxo Bank said. "Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains low, with no large commodity-laden vessels seen transitting."
--Asian markets were mostly higher on Friday as fears about a full-blown war in Iran eased. South Korea's Kospi rose 2.5% and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average added 1.2%. SK Hynix shares were just 0.3% lower in Korean trade--a small move for a typically volatile stock--after The Wall street Journal reported that the memory chip maker raised $26.5 billion ahead of its Friday listing. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.7% while China's Shanghai Composite Index lost 1%.
--In the U.S., futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.15%, putting the index on track to pull back from a near-record high Thursday. Nasdaq futures lost 0.6%, though the futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average nudged up 0.2%.
--European stock indexes largely edged higher in muted early trade. Most sectors are in the green, though AI-related stocks fell. The Europe-wide Stoxx 600 was flat. London's FTSE 100 jumped 0.15%, led by Vodafone--up 12% after Xavier Niel bought a $5.9 billion stake in the group. Germany's DAX was flat. Bayer rose 2.6% after selling a stake in a subsidiary to Apollo. However, Infineon Technologies and Siemens Energy slipped 2% and 1.1%, respectively. In Paris, the CAC 40 edged up 0.1%, led by basic materials group ArcelorMittal, which lifts 5%. Italy's FTSE MIB and Spanish IBEX 35 added 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively. The Dutch AEX was an outlie, with ASML--down 2.2%--and other semiconductor stocks dragging the index down 0.4%.
--The dollar fell as concerns about a return to full-blown conflict in the Iran war faded. The DXY dollar index slipped 0.2% to 100.751.
--U.S. Treasury yields were stable in Asia. "Yields pulled back as markets looked past the recent rounds of U.S.-Iran attacks and Brent crude declined below $77 per barrel," Danske Bank analyst August Hyldgaard said in a note. The two-year Treasury yield trades at 4.165%, while the 10-year Treasury yield is at 4.540%.
--Eurozone government bond yields declined in early trading, benefiting from a rally in Japanese government bonds as well as lower oil prices. Government bond issuance will come from Italy, while France and Spain will announce details of their respective auctions for next Thursday. The 10-year Bund yield fell 2.2 basis points to 3.035%. Declines in other 10-year eurozone government bond yields are of similar magnitude.
--Bitcoin rose 0.9% to $63,873, LSEG data show.
--New York Gold futures slipped 0.6% to $4,155.39 a troy ounce.
Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 10, 2026 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)
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