US stock futures slipped on Wednesday as Brent crude briefly broke above $100 a barrel for the first time since July, pushing Treasury yields higher and reviving inflation concerns before key price data later this week.
Dow futures fell more than 300 points or 0.5%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts lost 0.2% each.
The move follows another escalation in the US-Iran conflict and fresh attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure.
Investors are now balancing the risk of higher-for-longer rates against strength in AI-linked shares, with Thursday’s PPI, Friday’s CPI and a Treasury buyback announcement set to shape sentiment before next week’s Fed decision.
5 things to know before Wall Street opens
1. Oil has finally crossed $100, but stocks still are not panicking
Brent crude breached $100 a barrel for the first time since July as the US-Iran conflict intensified, while WTI climbed above $94.
Yet Wall Street futures remained remarkably resilient. Dow futures were modestly lower, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 hovered around flat.
That disconnect may be the most interesting market signal this morning.
Investors are clearly worried about inflation and supply disruption, but they are not yet treating $100 oil as an economy-breaking shock.
2. Apple’s biggest product event in years starts today
Apple takes centre stage at 1 pm ET with its first major product event under new CEO John Ternus.
The company is widely expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone alongside new premium iPhone 18 models.
Investors will be watching pricing particularly closely. Morgan Stanley expects unusually broad iPhone price increases, while the foldable device could cost more than $2,000.
Apple shares were roughly flat before the bell after falling about 1% on Tuesday.
3. Treasury has its own potential market-moving event at 11 am
Before Apple takes the stage, bond traders have another deadline: 11 am ET.
The US Treasury is expected to disclose the size of an expanded programme to buy back longer-dated government debt.
It previously capped individual purchases at $2 billion and has promised to at least double the amount, leaving markets looking for a figure of $4 billion or more.
That matters directly for stocks because the 10-year Treasury yield has been hovering around 4.8%, close to its highest since 2023.
A larger-than-expected buyback could ease long-term yields and help expensive growth stocks. A disappointing number could reinforce the pressure already coming from $100 oil.
4. AI stocks are still refusing to join the macro selloff
Technology is providing an unusual cushion against the oil shock.
Qualcomm rose about 1.4% before the bell after gaining 3.2% on Tuesday on optimism surrounding its Amazon agreement. Corning and SanDisk also advanced, even as AMD and Intel traded lower.
That makes AI one of the clearest areas where investors are still willing to ignore the broader macro environment.
The bigger debate is whether increasingly intertwined deals between AI companies eventually translate into genuine outside revenue.
That question matters more as valuations rise and suppliers, customers and investors increasingly overlap.
5. Earnings are producing some brutal stock-level reactions
Wednesday also has a much more interesting individual-stock tape than the original briefing suggested.
Casey’s General Stores sank about 8% despite beating quarterly expectations, showing how high the bar had become after a roughly 33% year-to-date rally.
Braze dropped about 12% even after topping second-quarter estimates because investors wanted clearer evidence that AI was accelerating revenue. ServiceTitan plunged around 18% after weaker guidance overshadowed an earnings beat.
Chewy is also due to report results, giving investors another consumer-demand read during the session.
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