Morning Briefing
Published
S&P 500 futures are little changed, up fractionally, as traders weigh a confusing mix of de-escalation claims and fresh supply-side flare-ups across two separate conflicts. President Trump's Truth Social post claiming an "immediate energy ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine was met with skepticism all morning: Zelenskiy said the announcement caught Kyiv off guard and would only hold if Moscow reciprocates, and the Kremlin has since said it has "nothing to comment on" regarding the proposal while rejecting a separate Zelenskiy truce offer. A NATO official put Russian casualties last month above 50,000 against roughly 5,000 for Ukraine, underscoring how far apart the two sides remain on the ground even as diplomatic signals swirl.
The bigger overnight risk sits in the Gulf. A tanker incident was reported near Oman's Sohar anchorage, Saudi Arabia's Dammam Airport was targeted, and the UK has advised against travel to Jeddah, Dammam and most Saudi airports. Aramco CEO Amin Nasser called the global crude squeeze "serious," warning that onshore inventories, now the last real buffer, could take up to two years to rebuild. Iran's foreign minister has offered to mediate between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, a sign Tehran is trying to manage the fallout from what officials describe as the deadliest attack on a Gulf state since the US-Israeli war with Iran began. Separately, North Korea fired missiles that cleared Japan's exclusive economic zone, hitting South Korean sentiment hard: the Kospi fell 3% and the Kosdaq 4%.
Energy is the standout sector pre-market, up 0.8%, alongside a 3.2% jump in the transportation ETF and a 2.9% gain in the health equipment ETF. Technology is the laggard among main sectors, down 0.3%, dragged by semiconductors with Micron off 2.5%, KLA and Applied Materials each down roughly 1.3%, and the broader semiconductor ETFs down around 1%. Materials are soft as well, with Albemarle down 4.4%. Value is outperforming growth, and emerging-market exposure is under pressure, with the EEMV min-vol ETF down 3.9%.
Company News
- Bristol-Myers Squibb is up sharply, with shares last quoted around 7% higher.
- Bank of America raised its Salesforce price target to $285 from $160 and upgraded the stock to buy from underperform; shares are up 4%.
- Amazon is reportedly in talks to buy AI startup Decart for roughly $7 billion.
- Jefferies raised its Tesla price target to $400 from $350.
- Universal Health Services has swung between a drop of more than 6% and a rebound to roughly flat in volatile pre-market trading.
- Volkswagen's third-quarter deliveries fell 14.3% year-over-year, with North American deliveries down 5.8% and Western Europe down 2.8%.
Overseas Data
China's commerce ministry confirmed an agreement with the EU to raise hybrid-vehicle export levels based on 2025 figures, while reiterating that Chinese products should not face discriminatory treatment. Indonesian stocks fell 2% to their lowest level since mid-July.
Germany's DAX and France's CAC are both trading modestly higher, with Spain's Ibex up more than 1%, and the Dutch trade surplus widened to €8.3 billion in August.