US Market Preview | PHOE Soars 95.2%; IREN Jumps 12% on $2.1 Billion Nvidia Investment; April Nonfarm Payrolls Beat Expectations
Phoenix Asia Holdings Ltd. PHOE | 0.00 | |
Robo.ai AIIO | 0.00 | |
Innodata Inc. INOD | 0.00 | |
GD Culture Group Limited GDC | 0.00 | |
Traws Pharma, Inc. TRAW | 0.00 |
Most Important News
- April Nonfarm Payrolls Beat Expectations
- Big Tech Funds SK Hynix's AI Chip Lines
- IREN Jumps 12% on $2.1 Billion Nvidia Investment
U.S. stock futures rose on Friday as traders eyed developments between the U.S. and Iran. They also looked ahead to the release of April’s jobs report.
As of 03:30 PM Riyadh Time, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were up about 0.56% and 0.82%, respectively. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 196 points, or 0.39%.
Oil prices were marginally higher, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures gaining 0.1%, after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz. Each side claimed the other struck first. U.S. Central Command said that military forces “intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes” as a trio of U.S. Navy destroyers transited the waterway.
As of 03:20 PM Riyadh Time, top pre-market movements are as follows:
Change | Price(US$) | Ticker (🌙 means "Shariah Compliant") |
95.2% | 37.2 | 🌙 Phoenix Asia Holdings Ltd.(PHOE.US) |
61.5% | 0.95 | Robo.ai(AIIO.US) |
49.0% | 68.03 | 🌙 Innodata Inc.(INOD.US) |
47.9% | 0.22 | 🌙 GD Culture Group Limited(GDC.US) |
31.8% | 2.24 | 🌙 Traws Pharma, Inc.(TRAW.US) |
-45.6% | 9.43 | Forward Air Corporation(FWRD.US) |
-34.4% | 5.97 | 🌙 Kodiak AI, Inc.(KDK.US) |
-29.5% | 1.24 | BT Brands, Inc.(BTBD.US) |
April Payrolls Add 115K Jobs, Beating Sharply Lower Forecasts
U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 115,000 in April, well above the 62,000 consensus but down sharply from March's revised 185,000 gain. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, in line with expectations. The data suggests the labor market remains resilient despite cooling, potentially solidifying the Fed's wait-and-see stance ahead of any rate decision.
Strait of Hormuz bets linger
Wall Street traders launch 'NACHO' strategy, betting oil shock persists amid Strait of Hormuz opening doubts.
AI Layoffs Surge in April
US job cuts rose 38% to 83,387 in April, with AI cited for 21,490 layoffs led by Amazon.com, Inc.(AMZN.US) and Meta Platforms(META.US) .
Big Tech Funds SK Hynix's AI Chip Lines
Global tech companies offered SK Hynix direct investment in production lines, as AI demand strains memory supply to “essentially zero” capacity.
SoftBank Scales Back OpenAI Margin Loan
SoftBank cut its planned US$10B margin loan using OpenAI equity by 40% amid valuation uncertainty of OpenAI.
Vance Fears Anthropic's Mythos AI
VP Vance warns Anthropic's Mythos AI can autonomously hack software, threatening US rural banks, hospitals, and water systems.
Nvidia Invests $2.1B in AI Infrastructure with IREN, IREN Gains 12%
NVIDIA Corporation(NVDA.US) announced a broad AI partnership with data center operator IREN Limited(IREN.US) , involving approximately $2.1 billion in total investment for AI computing infrastructure buildout. The deal strengthens Nvidia's supply capacity for surging large model training demand. IREN shares jumped 12% pre-market, while other AI compute-related names also drew investor attention.
CoreWeave Warns Nvidia on AI Capacity
CoreWeave(CRWV.US) CEO says Nvidia NVIDIA Corporation(NVDA.US) must scale AI or risk losing clients to Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.(AMD.US) . IREN deal highlights growing infrastructure demand. Read in detail>>
Cathie Wood Sells AMD, Buys Tempus AI
Ark Invest sold US$3.3M of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.(AMD.US) and bought US$7.7M of Tempus Al(TEM.US) on Thursday.
Broadcom's OpenAI Deal Stalls
Broadcom Limited(AVGO.US) shares fell Thursday on a US$18 billion financing hurdle for its AI chip partnership with OpenAI's first production phase. Stock rebounding premarket Friday.
SoundHound AI Shares Drop After Mixed Q1
SoundHound AI(SOUN.US) shares are trading lower after reporting mixed Q1 financial results.
Rocket Lab Soars on Strong Results
Rocket Lab(RKLB.US) shares rose after beating Q1 sales estimates and issuing upbeat Q2 guidance, plus announcing acquisition of Motiv Space Systems and a US$30M contract.
TSMC April Sales Show Slower Growth
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR(TSM.US) reported April revenue up 17.5% YoY but down 1.1% sequentially, signaling moderating AI-driven growth momentum. The company raised its 2026 guidance and partnered with Sony on next-gen sensors.
| Friday May 08 2026 | Previous | Consensus | Forecast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:45 PM | Fed Cook Speech | |||
| 03:30 PM | Non Farm Payrolls APR | 178K | 62K | 95.0K |
| 03:30 PM | Unemployment Rate APR | 4.3% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| 03:30 PM | Average Hourly Earnings MoM APR | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| 03:30 PM | Average Hourly Earnings YoY APR | 3.5% | 3.8% | 3.6% |
| 03:30 PM | Participation Rate APR | 61.9% | 61.7% | |
| 05:00 PM | Michigan Consumer Sentiment Prel MAY | 49.8 | 49.5 | 50 |
| 06:05 PM | Fed Goolsbee Speech | |||
| 09:20 PM | Fed Goolsbee Speech |