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Wall Street opens higher as Middle East peace hopes offset SpaceX and AMD weakness

Wall Street opens higher as Middle East peace hopes offset SpaceX and AMD weakness

U.S. stocks and futures rose as investors weighed Middle East peace hopes, a record SpaceX lock-up expiry after a 14% drop, AMD's weak market reaction and upcoming earnings from ConocoPhillips, Airbnb and Warner Bros. Discovery.

USDC

Fact Check
All major factual components are validated by multiple sources with only a minor discrepancy in Circle's exact premarket percentage.
Summary

U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday and futures edged up into Thursday as hopes of a Middle East peace breakthrough and strength in Nvidia helped offset pressure from SpaceX, AMD and broader technology weakness. At Wednesday's open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.33% to 54,266.12, the S&P 500 gained 0.45% to 7,771.62 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.43% to 26,698.018, after premarket gains in all three major index futures. SpaceX remained a key focus after the stock fell nearly 14% on Wednesday on concerns about sharply higher capital expenditures tied to artificial intelligence spending, ahead of the expiry of insider lock-up restrictions covering 912 million shares worth about $114 billion based on the Aug. 4 closing price. Nvidia rose 3.4% after Elon Musk said on SpaceX's earnings call that the company would rely exclusively on Nvidia chips and Vera Rubin architecture for its AI infrastructure. AMD fell more than 8% premarket after guiding third-quarter revenue to $13 billion, above the market average expectation of $12.5 billion but below the Street's most optimistic estimates. Investors were also watching Circle, whose shares rose nearly 6% after second-quarter 2026 results showed USDC circulation of $73.3 billion, total revenue and reserve income of $701 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $143 million, along with upcoming earnings from ConocoPhillips, Airbnb, Warner Bros. Discovery, SanDisk and Western Digital.

Terms & Concepts
  • Lock-up expiry: The end of restrictions that prevent insiders and early investors from selling shares after a listing or flotation, which can increase tradable supply and market volatility.
  • Capital expenditures: Company spending on long-term assets and infrastructure, often tracked by investors as a sign of future growth investment and cash needs.
  • Adjusted EBITDA: A profitability metric showing earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted for selected items to reflect operating performance.