07:42 AM EDT, 07/23/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity markets were tracking in the red before the opening bell Thursday and oil prices rose amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, while investors digest the latest financial results of Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Tesla (TSLA).

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2% each in premarket activity, while the Nasdaq was off 0.3%. The indexes ended the previous trading session mostly down.

The Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen reportedly claimed attacks on two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea on Wednesday, raising concerns that the conflict could spread to a new front in the Middle East, CNBC reported. The UK Maritime Trade Operations said Wednesday that an "unknown projectile" struck a Saudi Arabian oil tanker around 70 nautical miles southwest of Al Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 3.7% to $89.99 a barrel before the open, while Brent increased 4.4% to $98.18.

The US Central Command said Wednesday its forces struck Iran for the 12th consecutive night. In a social media post, President Donald Trump vowed to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Tehran attacks ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it hit Jordan's King Faisal and Prince Hassan bases with missiles and drones, claiming to have targeted US military equipment in response to recent American strikes, CNN reported Wednesday.

Treasury yields were trending higher in premarket action, with the two-year rate rising 1.3 basis points to 4.32% and the 10-year rate adding 1.8 basis points to 4.68%.

Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) class A and C shares were down roughly 4% each pre-bell after the Google ( GOOG ) parent announced in its second-quarter results that its capital expenditure doubled year over year. Tesla's stock dropped 5.9% as the electric vehicle manufacturer recorded an unexpected year-over-year decrease in its second-quarter earnings amid higher expenses related to research and development and artificial intelligence initiatives.

ServiceNow ( NOW ) jumped 7.6% while IBM ( IBM ) edged down 0.6% early Thursday following their latest financial results.

T-Mobile US ( TMUS ) , Thermo Fisher Scientific ( TMO ) , Union Pacific ( UNP ) , Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) , Blackstone (BX), Comcast ( CMCSA ) and Honeywell International ( HON ) are scheduled to release their quarterly earnings before the bell, among others. Intel ( INTC ) and Deckers Outdoor ( DECK ) are due to announce their results after the markets close.

Thursday's economic calendar has the weekly jobless claims bulletin at 8:30 am ET, along with the Chicago Fed national activity index for June. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index follows at 11 am.

Gold fell 1.5% to $4,092 per troy ounce, while bitcoin slipped 0.2% to $65,732.