TLDR
- S&P 500 futures dropped 0.86% in premarket trading, with Dow futures falling 1.08%
- Alibaba shares jumped 10% on narrowing losses in its instant-commerce unit and strong AI cloud growth
- MasTec gained 2% after agreeing to acquire Superior Group for $1.65 billion
- FuelCell Energy fell 18% after pricing a dilutive share offering at $21.00 per share
- Bitcoin slipped 2.71% to $62,031 while Brent crude oil futures rose 5.61%
U.S. stock futures pointed lower Wednesday morning as renewed U.S.-Iran strikes threatened a fragile peace framework and disrupted oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.86%, and Dow Jones futures fell 1.08%. The Cboe Volatility Index futures rose 2.03%, reflecting investor caution.
Markets were also watching the afternoon release of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes, which added to the cautious mood.
The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.574%, a level that has kept pressure on equity markets in recent sessions.
Alibaba Leads the Gainers
Alibaba was the standout mover of the day, with shares up around 10% in early trading.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited, BABA
A briefing showed losses in its instant-commerce business narrowed in the June quarter while overall profitability held up. That eased concerns ahead of its August 28 earnings report.
Reports also indicated Alibaba Cloud’s AI-driven growth picked up speed, and the company is consolidating its AI agent tools into a single platform.
Alibaba also continued its share buyback program. The gains were part of a wider rally in Hong Kong-listed Chinese tech stocks, as investors rotated back into the sector on improving earnings expectations.
MasTec rose 2% after agreeing to buy Superior Group for roughly $1.65 billion. The deal includes $475 million in stock and $1.175 billion in cash.
Superior Group adds expertise in electrical and building systems for data centers. MasTec expects the acquisition to immediately add to revenue, adjusted EBITDA, earnings per share, and operating cash flow.
The company projects Superior will generate between $2.2 billion and $2.5 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2027.
Decliners: FuelCell and Kura Sushi Drop
FuelCell Energy was the biggest loser on the day, falling 18% after pricing a public share offering of 10.71 million shares at $21.00 each. The company raised $225 million in gross proceeds, above its initial $200 million target.
Underwriters were also granted an option to buy an additional 1.61 million shares. Proceeds will go toward expanding manufacturing capacity and working capital.
Kura Sushi fell around 5% after cutting its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to between $330.5 million and $331.5 million, below the $334.1 million analyst consensus.
Second-quarter revenue rose 16% year over year, but tariff-driven food and beverage costs weighed on the outlook. The company said improved labor efficiency helped lift restaurant-level operating margin to 19.1%.
Crypto and Commodities
Bitcoin fell 2.71% to $62,031. Brent crude oil futures rose 5.61% on supply concerns tied to the Strait of Hormuz disruption.
Gold futures declined 2.30%. Asian markets were also lower, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 2.11% and China’s Shanghai Composite falling 0.49%.
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