The biggest catalyst for markets on Friday is the SpaceX IPO, set to debut on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX.
- The blockbuster IPO is priced at $135 per share, offering 555.6 million shares of Class A common stock, and has raised about $75 billion.
- Meanwhile, President Trump has indicated that a deal between the U.S. and Iran was close and that a signing was imminent.
- Five companies, namely Astera Labs, CoreWeave, Nebius Group, Rocket Lab Corporation, and Teradyne, will be added to the Nasdaq-100 index as part of its June 2026 rebalancing.
U.S. stock futures edged higher in overnight trading late Thursday, extending gains from the regular session as investors look ahead to SpaceX's historic public markets debut on Friday.
Adding to the optimism, a possible end to the U.S.-Iran war appears to be on the horizon. President Trump said planned strikes against the country were canceled following talks with the Iranian leadership.
As of 8:47 p.m. ET, Dow futures were up 0.08%, S&P 500 futures climbed 0.24%, and Nasdaq 100 futures traded 0.45% higher.
Among ETFs tracking the benchmark indexes, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), and SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) were all in the green at the time of writing. Retail sentiment, however, painted a more cautious picture: 'bearish' for SPY, 'neutral' for QQQ, and 'extremely bearish' for DIA.
The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) was trading 0.16% lower amid 'neutral' sentiment.
How Did US Markets Fare On Thursday?
On Thursday, all three benchmark indexes closed higher, bolstered by a rebound in chip stocks and Trump’s comments that stoked hopes for an Iran peace deal. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the gains, adding 640 points to close 2.54% higher. The S&P 500 rose 1.75%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.86% at close.
| Index | Move | Close |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 1.86% | 50,848.75 |
| S&P 500 | 1.75% | 7,394.30 |
| Nasdaq Composite | 2.54% | 25,809.66 |
US Market Drivers
Seemingly cooling tensions between the U.S. and Iran have put U.S. markets at ease on Thursday ahead of the massive initial public offering of Elon Musk’s aerospace company.
Earlier in the day, Trump said in the Oval Office that a deal between the U.S. and Iran was close and that a signing was coming soon. “It should be done and it should be done pretty quickly,” he told reporters.
The president was also clear that the deal under discussion would include Iran never having a nuclear weapon. “Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have, as President of the United States of America, canceled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening,” Trump also said in a post on Truth Social.
The president emphasized that the deal and its final points have been “approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others.” The President added that the “Naval Blockade will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized — Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly.”
The biggest catalyst for markets heading into Friday is the debut of Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, on Nasdaq, set to trade under the ticker SPCX.
The blockbuster IPO is priced at $135 per share, offering 555.6 million shares of Class A common stock, according to a prospectus filed with the SEC on Thursday. The filing revealed that the IPO has raised about $75 billion, making it the largest IPO in history by a significant margin. For context, Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco was the top-performing company globally, raising about $25.6 billion on the Tadawul stock exchange in December 2019.
After the filing, The Kobeissi Letter said in a post on X, “Nothing even remotely near what SpaceX is about to do has ever happened. Friday will be a historic day.”
While the IPO is reportedly oversubscribed at up to 4x the planned offering amid significant buzz and excitement, some market participants are also concerned that it may be highly overvalued and risky.
Many pension and retirement funds track major indexes such as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, meaning retired investors will often gain exposure to stocks automatically rather than by choice.
“They have to buy the stocks that are in the index in proportion to their weighting within the index. As a result, they will all be forced to buy these companies immediately, and that could be highly undesirable,” Aleksander Tomic, associate dean for strategy, innovation and technology at Boston College, told Al Jazeera.
Markets will also be tuned into the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for June, which will provide cues on consumer attitudes on personal finances, inflation expectations, and broader economic health.
Additionally, the following five companies will be added to the Nasdaq-100 index as part of its June 2026 rebalancing: Astera Labs, Inc. (ALAB), CoreWeave, Inc. (CRWV), Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS), Rocket Lab Corporation (RKLB), and Teradyne, Inc. (TER).
Trending Stocks To Watch On Friday
SanDisk Corp. (SNDK): Shares of the memory chipmaker surged to an all-time high on Thursday amid broader gains in the semiconductor industry, drawing significant retail attention.
AST SpaceMobile Inc. (ASTS): Shares of the aerospace and telecom company soared by over 11% at close and climbed further after hours as investors cheered SpaceX’s IPO and the company's progress on its BlueBird satellite launches.
Redwire Corp. (RDW): The Jacksonville-based company is also riding the wave of enthusiasm around SpaceX’s IPO, with shares soaring nearly 15% at the close before gaining another 12% in overnight trading.
CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV): The neocloud provider’s shares surged over 7% in extended trading hours after news that it will be added to the Nasdaq-100 as part of the index's June 2026 reconstitution.
Rocket Lab USA Inc. (RKLB): The aerospace manufacturer will also be added to the Nasdaq-100 as part of the index's June 2026 reconstitution. Shares surged more than 10% in overnight trading following the announcement.
Global Market Trends
Oil futures declined in the overnight session on Thursday. Brent crude futures expiring in August fell more than 1% to trade at around $89.17 a barrel at the time of writing, while WTI crude futures expiring in July declined about 1.4%, trading around $86.51 a barrel.
Meanwhile, yields on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.473%, and gold was trading around $4,201.66 an ounce at the time of writing.
Asian markets were largely edging higher at the opening on Friday, with South Korea's KOSPI up more than 8% at the time of writing, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining more than 4%. Australian stocks also climbed at the open.
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