Aug 14 (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were subdued on Friday, a day after the S&P 500 closed at a record high, as rising crude prices after the latest developments in the Middle East kept investors cautious.
Cooling rate-hike expectations and resilient corporate earnings have put the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq on track for a third straight week of gains, their longest winning streak since early April.
Expectations for a September rate hike have eased this week after a benign consumer inflation reading helped allay concerns about price pressures.
Still, rising tensions in the Middle East tempered sentiment and sent Brent crude futures higher on Friday.
The U.S. said it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely and increase economic pressure on Tehran as ceasefire talks stalled.
At 06:07 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 64 points, or 0.12%, and S&P 500 E-minis were up 5.75 points, or 0.07%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 54.25 points, or 0.18%.
Applied Materials fell 5.4%, even after the chip equipment maker forecast fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates. The stock has more than doubled so far this year.
Reddit jumped 12.4% after the social media company was selected to join the S&P 500 index, effective August 18.
Fox Corp’s Class A shares gained 2.1% after J.P. Morgan upgraded the media company to “overweight” from “neutral.”
Shares of some drone makers gained after President Donald Trump said late on Thursday that he would impose tariffs on imports of drones and their components.
Red Cat jumped 7.1%, Unusual Machines added 13% and AeroVironment gained 3%.
Megacap and growth stocks were slightly higher, with Nvidia and Alphabet up about 0.3% each.
A July reading on retail sales is due later in the day, which could offer more insight into the health of the U.S. consumer.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said late on Thursday the latest U.S. inflation data has been “a little better,” and that he was hopeful inflation could continue to improve as the effects of tariffs and higher oil prices from the Iran war recede.
Comments from Atlanta Fed interim President Cheryl Venable will also be closely watched later in the day.
(Reporting by Avinash P in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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