U.S. stock futures advanced on Thursday, as the Dow Jones, Nasdaq 100, and S&P 500 indices rose, following Wednesday’s mixed close.

After President ​Donald Trump declared that the Iran ceasefire was “over,” the U.S. military launched additional strikes on Iran aimed at weakening Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with strikes against U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf doubled down on claims about Tehran controlling the Strait of Hormuz and said the U.S. still has not learned that "bullying" and going back on commitments are no longer without consequences.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.56%, and the two-year bond was at 4.19%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool’s projections show markets pricing a 72.7% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged during July’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 higher in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.21% at $747.00, while the QQQ advanced by 0.64% to $716.02.

Stocks In Focus

Levi Strauss

• Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) tumbled 6.07% in premarket on Thursday despite posting better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter and raising its FY2026 guidance.

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

Honeywell International

• Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON) was 0.03% lower after raising its FY26 adjusted earnings guidance following a 1-for-2 reverse stock split.

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

AZZ

• AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) jumped 8.35% after it reported record quarterly sales in both segments and raised fiscal year 2027 guidance.

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

Ionis Pharmaceuticals

• Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) slipped 13.76% as its Phase 3 CARDIO-TTRansform trial of eplontersen in adults with transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy missed its primary endpoint.

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

WD-40

• WD-40 Co. (NASDAQ:WDFC) was unchanged as analysts expect it to report earnings of $1.56 per share on revenue of $172.79 million, after the closing bell.

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

Cues From Last Session

Materials, real estate, and financial stocks led most S&P 500 sectors lower on Wednesday, while information technology and energy shares bucked the trend to close higher as U.S. markets broadly fell.

Insights From Analysts

Wharton Professor Jeremy Siegel maintains a constructive outlook on the U.S. economy and equities, viewing the recent labor data volatility as a mask over a “fundamentally healthy” landscape. Rather than signaling a recession, softer headline payrolls simply indicate a pace “far more consistent with a mature expansion.”

Crucially for monetary policy, Siegel highlights that easing energy and commodity prices, alongside flattening rent growth, are weakening the case for additional Federal Reserve tightening. He notes that “the underlying inflation backdrop is improving,” leading him to predict that the Fed will likely stay on hold for the rest of the year.

For the stock market, Siegel sees impressive resilience beneath “unusually violent” sector rotations driven by artificial intelligence speculation. He remains highly bullish on AI, framing it as “fundamentally a productivity story, not simply a cost-cutting story.”

In his view, early adopters are expanding and becoming more competitive, which will support long-run economic growth. Ultimately, Siegel concludes that with inflation pressures easing and steady labor demand, “the long-term investment case for equities… remains firmly intact.”

Upcoming Economic Data

Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Thursday.

• Initial jobless claims for the week ending Jul. 4 will be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
• June’s Existing Home Sales data will be out by 10:00 a.m. ET.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.90% to hover around $72.86 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.92% to hover around $4,115.12 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.05% higher at the 101.0780 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 1.75% higher at $63,005.36 per coin over the last 24 hours.

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

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