Stock futures fell sharply on Friday after the U.S. carried out a sixth straight night of military strikes on Iran, adding to geopolitical tensions and extending the weakness seen on Wall Street, where semiconductor stocks led the market lower.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped around 420 points (0.8%), while S&P 500 futures declined 0.9%. Nasdaq-100 futures fell 1.6% as renewed selling pressure hit technology stocks.
Asian markets also came under heavy pressure. Japan's Nikkei 225 plunged 5.2%, with the Topix losing 3.7%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 2.2%. South Korean markets remained closed for a public holiday.
Investor sentiment weakened after the U.S. Central Command confirmed another overnight wave of strikes on Iran, targeting multiple military facilities, including logistics hubs and maritime infrastructure.
The renewed conflict has further disrupted the fragile ceasefire reached last month, raising concerns over energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route that carries roughly 20% of global oil exports.
Thursday's trading session was already under pressure as semiconductor stocks continued to retreat. The S&P 500 lost 0.5%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 105.67 points (0.2%).
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) declined nearly 4%, led by a drop of more than 2% in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) after the company released mixed quarterly results. Although earnings improved significantly from a year earlier, its increased capital spending outlook weighed on investor sentiment. Other chipmakers, including Marvell Technology, STMicroelectronics, and Micron, also moved lower.
The latest sell-off has pushed the SMH ETF down 6.9% for the week, marking its third weekly decline in the past four weeks. Major U.S. indices are also on track for weekly losses, with the S&P 500 down 0.6%, the Dow off 0.2%, and the Nasdaq lower by 1.5%.
Despite the recent pullback in AI-related and semiconductor stocks, the S&P 500 remains only about 1% below the record high it reached in early June.
