US pre-open: Futures slip as tech earnings loom, Iran tensions persist
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Wednesday 22 Jul 2026
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the opening bell on Wednesday as investors braced for another round of corporate earnings, while geopolitical tensions continued to simmer in the background.
As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.13%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.28% and 0.67% lower, respectively.
The Dow closed 385.38 points higher on Tuesday as investors shifted focus back to a busy slate of corporate earnings.
Attention remained fixed on developments in the US-Iran conflict prior to the open on Tuesday. Speaking at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting in the Philippines, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was still committed to diplomacy but accused Tehran of breaching the two sides' agreement over the Strait of Hormuz, warning the US would act to protect its interests if talks failed.
Rubio's comments came as US Central Command carried out its 11th straight night of strikes, targeting Iranian military operations centres, maritime assets, aircraft hangars, drone storage sites and logistics infrastructure.
Oil extended its recent rally amid fears of supply disruption, with Brent up 3.29% at $94 a barrel and West Texas intermediate gaining 3.57% to $87.35 a barrel. The climb in energy prices fed into expectations of tighter Federal Reserve policy, with markets now pricing a 24.1% chance of a rate rise this month and a 69% probability of at least a quarter‑point increase in September.
In the corporate space, telecommunications firm AT&T posted a steady set of second‑quarter numbers, with revenues up 2.3% year‑on‑year at $31.6bn, operating income rising to $7bn from $6.5bn, and diluted earnings per share improving to $0.66 from $0.62, while tobacco giant Philip Morris also reported higher Q2 revenue, advancing 10.4% year-on-year to $11.2bn.
Still to come, Alphabet, Tesla and IBM were all slated to report their latest quarterly numbers after the close.
On the macro front, US mortgage applications increased by 1.9% in the week ended 17 July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, bouncing back from two straight weekly losses. Last week's increase comes despite another period of increasing interest rates, with the benchmark 30-year fixed-mortgage rising four basis points to its highest level since August 2025. Applications to purchase a new home rose 6%, while applications to refinance a mortgage, which are generally more sensitive to short-term interest rate, fell by 2%.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN