Stock Market Today: Dow, S&p 500, Nasdaq Futures Slip As Trump Sets Deadline For Us Joining Mideast Conflict

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US stock futures slipped on Friday as oil prices rose, with investors weighing the possibility of direct US military involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict after President Trump set a timeline for a decision. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and on the S&P 500 were both down 0.2%, while contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell roughly 0.3%. Markets were closed Thursday in observance of Juneteenth, offering investors a brief pause as global headlines grew more volatile.

Trump has introduced a self-imposed two-week time limit on deciding whether to enter the Middle East conflict, via a message relayed on Thursday by the White House press secretary. The move added another layer of uncertainty to an already cautious market, even as it signaled a cooldown from recent rhetoric that included a call for Tehran's evacuation. Yahoo Finance reports.

👩‍💻 Meta tried to buy Ilya Sutskever’s $32 billion AI startup, but is now planning to hire its CEO: When Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg poached Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang last week as part of a $14.3 billion investment in the artificial intelligence startup, he was apparently just getting started.

Zuckerberg’s multibillion-dollar AI hiring spree has now turned to Daniel Gross, the CEO of Ilya Sutskever’s startup Safe Superintelligence, and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. CNBC reports.

📊 A $6.5 trillion ‘triple witching’ heralds return to volatility: Investors are bracing for $6.5 trillion of notional US options expiring on Friday, in a move that could free stocks to swing more wildly than the subdued changes seen in recent weeks.

Every quarter, a cluster of different exchange-traded derivatives contracts all terminate on the same day, leading to what is sometimes dubbed a “triple witching” event by market watchers. The event isn’t expected to add additional volatility on Friday itself, but could open a path to more sudden stock market moves next week. Yahoo Finance reports.

🚗 For the first time, a majority of the 10 most ‘American-made’ cars are EVs: A long-running index from Cars.com that ranks automobiles on factors such as U.S.-based assembly and domestic sourcing of parts has gone electric this year, with six electric vehicles making the top 10 for the first time.

This development comes as a promised U.S. switch to EVs has hit some big speed bumps — and as Cars.com says that “knowing what’s made here and what that really means has never been more important.” MarketWatch reports.

🚕 Uber expands AI data platform to power next-gen enterprise and AI lab needs: Uber Technologies today announced a major expansion of its AI data services business, Uber AI Solutions, making its technology platform available to support AI labs and enterprises around the world.

The new offerings include customized data solutions for building smarter AI models and agents, global digital task networks, and tools to help companies build and test AI models more efficiently. Business Wire reports.

🧑‍💼 Accenture beats third-quarter revenue estimates: Accenture beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue on Friday, driven by growing demand for the consulting giant's AI-driven services from enterprise customers.

It reported revenue of $17.7 billion for the quarter ended May 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of $17.30 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Shares of the company fell 2.6% in premarket trading after Accenture said new bookings decreased 6% to $19.7 billion in the third quarter. Market Screener reports.

🚙 Audi could build plant in US to placate Trump, Spiegel reports: Volkswagen's premium brand Audi could build a plant at a new location in the United States under scenarios being considered to placate President Donald Trump in the tariff conflict, the Spiegel news magazine reported on Friday.

Audi is considering building a plant in the southern U.S., which would be the more expensive option out of a number of scenarios being considered, with company sources estimating costs of up to 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion), the report said. Reuters reports.

🛢️Brent futures down nearly $2 after U.S. delays decision on direct Iran involvement: Brent crude prices pared gains from the previous session and fell nearly $2 on Friday after the White House delayed a decision on U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict, but they were still poised for a third straight week in the black. Brent crude futures fell $1.72, or 2.2%, to $77.12 a barrel. CNBC reports.

🔌South Korea says SK and Amazon to invest $5 billion in country's biggest data centre: South Korea's SK Group will invest around 7 trillion won ($5.11 billion) including $4 billion from Amazon Web Services, Amazon's cloud services provider, to build a data centre in the southern city of Ulsan, the Science Ministry said on Friday.

The AI data centre, which will be the country's largest, will break ground in September and be fully operational with a capacity of 100 megawatts by 2029, the ministry said in a statement. Yahoo Finance reports.

(All pricing and percent gains are based on Early Pre-Market from 4:00 AM to 7:00 AM Eastern Time)
Benzinga reports.

1) $WHLR: Wheeler Real Estate IT

Total gain: +128.94%

2) $BIYA: Baiya International Group

Total gain: +47.07%

3) $GPUS: Hyperscale Data

Total gain: +41.42%

4) $GMS: GMS

Total gain: +31.46%

5) $HOVR: New Horizon Aircraft

Total gain: +21.05%

The closing price of the top three market percent gainers trading near or above $3 on June 18.
Benzinga reports.

*All pricing and percent gains are based on regular market trading hours from 9:30am to 4:00pm Eastern Time

1) $APVO: Aptevo Therapeutics

Total gain: +79.78%

The company announced that it has entered into securities purchase agreements with certain healthcare-focused and institutional investors to purchase 2,465,000 shares of its common stock or pre-funded warrants in lieu thereof and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 12,325,000 shares of its common stock at a purchase price of $3.25 per share and associated Common Warrants in a registered direct offering priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules. Benzinga reports.

2) $RELI: Reliance Global Group

Total gain: +38.24%

The company announced that it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to sell Fortman Insurance Agency, a wholly owned subsidiary, for $5 million in cash. Benzinga reports.

3) $CRCL: Circle Internet Group

Total gain: +33.89%

The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

*Estimate and Actual numbers represent Earnings Per Share in US Dollars


DRI: Darden Restaurants
4Q 2025

Before Market Open
Estimate: 2.970
Actual: N/A

KMX: CarMax
1Q 2026

Before Market Open
Estimate: 1.170
Actual: N/A

ACN: Accenture
3Q 2025

Before Market Open
Estimate: 3.320
Actual: N/A

Time (ET) / Report / Period

8:30 am - Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey - June

10:00 am - U.S. leading economic indicators - May

“The hard work in trading comes in the preparation. The actual process of trading, however, should be effortless.” - Morgan Housel

Sourced in: “Market Wizards: Interviews with Top Traders. New York: New York Institute of
Finance”, by Morgan Housel, published in 1989.