08:03 AM EDT, 07/23/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were lower pre-bell Thursday as the traders considered the possibility of the Middle East conflict spreading to a new front in the Red Sea, lifting oil prices closer to the $100 mark.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.6% lower, S&P 500 futures were down 0.6%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.9% lower.

The US launched attacks on Iran for the 12th consecutive day, US Central Command said in a post on X. Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have claimed they attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea for allegedly violating their announced blockade, in a potential new front for the war, according to multiple media reports.

Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google ( GOOG ) posted higher earnings and revenue for Q2, but the company's stock dropped 4.7% in premarket activity as it increased its forecasted capital expenditures to as high as $205 billion.

Intel ( INTC ) is is expected to report its Q2 earnings after the market closes. Analysts polled by FactSet expect earnings of $0.22 per share on revenue of $14.44 billion.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 4.9% at $98.64 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 4.5% higher at $90.69 per barrel.

The weekly jobless claims bulletin, scheduled for release at 8:30 am ET, is expected to show 210,000 new unemployment claims for the week ended July 18, up from 208,000 in the prior week, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.