US stock-index futures advanced sharply on Friday, driven by a potent mix of a record-breaking SpaceX IPO and easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq-100 futures pointed to a stronger open, with Dow futures climbing around 300 points after President Trump canceled planned strikes on Iran and signaled a potential peace agreement.
The diplomatic shift sent oil prices tumbling—Brent crude fell back below $90 a barrel, dropping as much as 5% to its lowest since March—as hopes grew that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen. The retreat in energy costs pushed Federal Reserve rate-hike expectations further out, with traders now penciling in the next increase around December instead of October. This relief on the inflation front gave equities a much-needed boost after a volatile week marked by geopolitics and stretched tech valuations.
SpaceX’s blockbuster initial public offering dominated the session. Shares priced at $135 each, raising $75 billion and valuing Elon Musk’s space, satellite, and AI conglomerate at roughly $1.75–1.78 trillion—immediately placing it among the most valuable US-listed companies. The listing stirred premarket excitement across the space sector, lifting Rocket Lab, Intuitive Machines, and Planet Labs by as much as 7%. Analysts cautioned that intense demand for allocations might not fully translate into open-market buying, but the event underscored sky-high investor appetite for defense and orbital technology.
Among individual stocks, Adobe slid more than 5% after its CFO’s planned departure overshadowed an improved forecast. Airlines like Alaska Air and Delta gained on lower fuel costs. Bitcoin remained range-bound following a timid recovery, while gold rose about 2% after the Iran announcement but remained on track for a weekly loss. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, which hit an all-time low in May, was due later in the session, keeping attention on how households are coping with persistent inflation fears.
