Pre-market activity is seeing some buying activity after Thursday’s big drop in all major indexes. We still see violence in Iran, with the U.S. dropping bombs overnight for the 13th-straight day. Iran has rejected a cease-fire agreement brought forth by neighboring Iraq. The end of this turmoil does not appear to be in sight.
Nevertheless, spot oil prices have cooled from yesterday, -3% on both WTI and Brent crude, to $89 per barrel (/bbl) and $97/bbl, respectively. The international Brent index pushing over $100 yesterday was a strong catalyst for the market selloff. Unfortunately, save any new serious peace talks, we can expect the dance at these levels to continue.
Bond yields are not fluctuating quite the same way: they’ve risen over the past week and stayed there: +4.68% on the 10-year is the highest of President Trump’s second term so far. Same with the 2-year yield, which stands at +4.33% currently. Historically, the bond yield flexes much muscle in expressing its approval, or lack thereof, of economic conditions. It pays to keep an eye on these charts.
Q2 Earnings Reports Ahead of the Open: AXP, NEE & More
American Express AXP, as per usual, outperformed earnings expectations this morning, reporting $4.53 per share versus a consensus estimate of $4.41. Revenues were breakeven at $19.64 billion in its Q2. AmEx’s high-end Platinum card became the credit card giant’s fastest growing product, depicting continued strength from the high-end consumer. That said, shares are -4% in early trading, deepening the -8% losses since the start of the year.
NextEra Energy NEE reported mixed quarterly results this morning, reporting earnings of $1.15 per share versus $1.09 projected, for a +5.5% positive earnings surprise and year over year growth of a solid dime per share. Revenues, however, came in well short of estimates to $7.53 billion in the quarter. Forward guidance was in line with previous Zacks consensus. Yet increased demand has set the stock in positive territory pre-market on the news.
Oilfield services major SLB Corp. SLB, formerly Schlumberger, beat earnings estimates by 4 cents to $0.55 per share this morning, with Q2 revenues of $8.97 billion outpacing forecasts by +3%, and up nicely from $8.55 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. Shares are up +4% in today’s pre-market, adding to the solid +23% gains year to date.
Verizon VZ put up mixed Q2 results this morning, beating on the bottom line by 3 cents with earnings of $1.30 per share (8 cents higher than the year-ago quarter) while revenues of $34.25 billion came up short of estimates by -3%. Post-paid phone adds was a highlight in the company’s report, and shares are up modestly in today’s pre-market, adding to the +7.6% gains year to date.
What to Expect from the Stock Market Today
After the opening bell this morning, S&P flash Services PMI for July will be released. Expectations are for a slight increase to 51.5, as the final FIFA World Cup matches saw higher demand for services in New York/New Jersey, Houston, Seattle and elsewhere. Also S&P flash Manufacturing PMI is also expected to increase half a point to 54.4. The prior month’s flash number had been revised downward fairly drastically in its final to 53.9, so these figures appear fairly active currently.
New Home Sales for June also hit the tape after today’s open. Analysts expect a rebound off lows in May not seen since the start of the year, from 580K to 606K seasonally adjusted, annualized units. It’s no secret new home sales have faced significant headwinds over the past couple years, but we look for signs of lasting improvement. The 2026 high was 664 seasonally adjusted, annualized units.
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NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE): Free Stock Analysis Report
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