Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Futures Fall, Nasdaq Gains As Middle East Tensions Intensify—Palo Alto, Marvell In Focus

U.S. stock futures were mixed on Wednesday, after a record close on Tuesday, as the Dow Jones and S&P 500 advanced but the Nasdaq 100 fell.

The U.S. military retaliated against Iran by launching strikes on an Iranian ground control station on Qeshm Island, near the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran's failed missile attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain.

Just a day before the missile attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly received a heated call from President Donald Trump over the situation in Lebanon. According to an Axios report, Trump called Netanyahu "crazy" and said he would "be in prison if it weren't for me." Trump allegedly added, "Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this."

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.48%, and the two-year bond was at 4.07%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 98.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged during June’s meeting.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were mixed in premarket on Wednesday. The SPY was down 0.053% at $759.17, while the QQQ advanced by 0.032% to $746.40.

Stocks In Focus

Palo Alto Networks

• Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) was 4.62% lower despite beating third-quarter estimates and raising its guidance.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that PANW maintains a strong price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a solid growth score.

Shopify

• Shopify Inc. (NASDAQ:SHOP) was 0.85% higher as it added $3 billion to its ongoing share repurchase plan, bringing the total to $5 billion.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that SHOP maintains a strong price trend in the short term but a weak trend in the long and medium terms, with a moderate quality score.

Broadcom

• Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) advanced 3.05% as analysts expect it to report earnings of $2.40 on revenue of $22.12 billion, after the closing bell.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that AVGO maintains a strong price trend in the long, short, and medium terms, with a good quality score.

Marvell Technology

• Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) continued rising with a 12.67% gain as Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said it was the "next trillion-dollar company" at the Computex conference in Taipei, Taiwan.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MRVL maintains a strong price trend in the long, medium, and short terms, with a poor value score.

CrowdStrike Holdings

• CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) was 0.77% lower as analysts expect it to report earnings of $0.78 to $1.07 on revenue of $1.36 billion, after the closing bell.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CRWD maintains a strong price trend in the short, long, and medium terms.

Cues From Last Session

Sectors that gained and lost on Tuesday saw most S&P 500 groups finish higher, led by utilities, materials, and industrials, while health care and communication services bucked the trend to close lower.

Insights From Analysts

Wharton School Professor Jeremy Siegel maintains a highly constructive outlook on the U.S. stock market and economy, driven by resilient growth and improving liquidity.

While the first quarter GDP was revised down to 1.6%, Siegel stresses there is “no meaningful evidence of an approaching recession,” with the second quarter growth projected between 2% and 3%.

Crucially, he highlights a “three consecutive months of above-average expansion” in M2 money supply, signaling that supportive financial conditions have returned.

Though recent AI productivity gains haven’t yet surfaced in aggregate economic data, Siegel remains “highly optimistic that AI will eventually drive a significant productivity renaissance.” Near-term tailwinds like easing Treasury yields and lower oil prices further bolster equities.

Siegel also dismisses concerns that the equity risk premium has vanished, calling direct comparisons between stock earnings yields and nominal bond yields “one of the most common valuation errors in finance.”

Because stocks offer real yields that grow with inflation, he notes they properly stack up against inflation-protected securities. By that accurate metric, “equities still offer roughly a 2.5 to 3% premium, close to their long-term historical average,” solidifying a strong long-term case for stocks.

Upcoming Economic Data

Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on Wednesday.

• Federal Reserve governor Michael Barr will speak at 9:00 a.m., May’s S&P final U.S. services PMI will be out by 9:45 a.m., and April’s factory orders, along with May’s ISM services data, will both be released by 10:00 a.m. ET.
• The Fed’s Beige Book will be released by 2:00 p.m. ET.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 2.52% to hover around $96.12 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar fell 0.75% to hover around $4,454.23 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.17% higher at the 99.3870 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 3.95% lower at $66,953.29 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.

Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, as Hong Kong's Hang Seng and India’s Nifty 50 indices fell, while Japan's Nikkei 225, Australia's ASX 200, South Korea's Kospi, and China’s CSI 300 indices rose. European markets were also mixed in early trade.

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