07:09 AM EDT, 05/21/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Wall Street futures pointed moderately lower pre-bell Thursday as traders again weighed the odds of a Persian Gulf peace deal and pondered rich tech-sector valuations.

After Wednesday's rallies, S&P 500 futures fell 0.4%, Nasdaq futures declined 0.6%, and Dow Jones futures were off 0.3%.

Nvidia (NVDA) shares hardly budged in morning action after the chip colossus reported strong earnings and upbeat guidance overnight, along with boosted dividends and a stock buyback plan.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil traded up 2.7% at $100.95 barrel in morning action.

Asian exchanges traded mostly higher overnight, including an 8.4% rise by Seoul's KOSPI index, on lower oil prices during trading hours and tech-sector optimism.

European bourses tracked lower at midday on the continent.

Intuit (INTU) traded down 14.3% pre-bell after the software enterprise reported earnings late Wednesday and disclosed plans for a large reduction in payrolls. AI advancements are forcing changes in Intuit's business model.

Retail titan Walmart (WMT) is slated to report earnings pre-bell.

On the economic calendar is the housing starts and permits bulletin for April, the weekly jobless claims report, and the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for May, at 8:30 am ET.

The flash S&P Global US purchasing managers index (PMI) for May logs at 9:45 am.

The weekly EIA natural gas report posts at 10:30 am, followed by the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index for May at 11 am.

Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin speaks on Thursday.

In pre-market action, Bitcoin traded at $77,297, and 10-year US Treasuries offered 4.62%. Spot gold commanded $4,514 an ounce.