Pre-Market | Dow Futures Rise Amid Fed Rate Cut Speculation, Netflix Drops

18 Jul., DOW FUTURES up 0.09% in pre-market, NASDAQ FUTURES up 0.08% in pre-market, S&P FUTURES up 0.08% in pre-market. Trade tensions and U.S. political uncertainty have reduced foreign equity inflows, slowing recent capital flows. Meanwhile, Fed officials have signaled potential interest rate cuts by July to provide flexibility amid economic risks, with market pricing indicating a high likelihood of unchanged rates for now.

Interactive Brokers Group rose 5.55% in pre-market trading, driven by strong Q2 earnings that exceeded expectations. Chevron also saw a significant rise, up 2.99% in pre-market, following a successful mediation in Guyana's oil assets, which cleared obstacles for its acquisition of Hess. Meanwhile, Netflix dropped 1.65% in pre-market, while Sony Group fell 1.35% in pre-market due to an institutional investor reducing its stake in the company during the quarter.

Telomir shares surged over 158% in pre-market trading, driven by promising preclinical findings for Telomir-1 in prostate cancer research. Meanwhile, Blaize Holdings saw a significant rise of nearly 99% after announcing a $120 million contract for scalable hybrid AI infrastructure deployment across the Asia-Pacific region. In contrast, LQR House experienced a sharp decline of over 62% following the announcement of a $46 million equity offering, which raised investor concerns about dilution. Northern Dynasty also faced a substantial drop of nearly 48% as directors sold 353,000 shares.

Global capital inflows into U.S. equities have sharply decreased this year, with flows halving compared to 2024 levels, due to trade tensions and political uncertainties undermining investor confidence. Federal Reserve officials discussed potential interest rate cuts, with market data indicating minimal expectations for a July reduction but rising probabilities for September cuts, reflecting shifting monetary policy views. Chinese officials reaffirmed commitment to foreign investment openness during a meeting with NVIDIA's CEO, highlighting opportunities for deepening AI collaboration. Separately, Meta Platforms announced it will not sign the EU's common artificial intelligence conduct code.