The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) is leaning on its biggest tech names this morning to absorb a fresh oil shock, with index futures hovering near flat after climbing well off their overnight lows. A 3% spike in crude on renewed Iran tensions is the main drag, but blowout earnings from Alphabet and Amazon late last week coupled with deal developments are giving the Nasdaq some momentum. After a record-setting week, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) hovers above the 25,114 level and has boosted its YTD advance to 8%.
Strait of Hormuz headlines jolt crude
WTI crude futures rose 3% to trade above $105 per barrel, with Brent up 3% above $111, after conflicting reports of an Iranian attack on a U.S. warship near Jask island. Iran’s Navy said it blocked American warships from entering the zone, while U.S. Central Command later posted on X that “no U.S. Navy ships have been struck.” Energy prices came off their highs once those denials hit. Crude was already in the 96th percentile of its 12-month range before today’s move, which is why every $1 matters for tech multiples.
Mega-cap earnings doing the heavy lifting
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL | GOOGL Price Prediction) is the single biggest reason the Nasdaq is holding up. Shares are up roughly 30% in the past month after Q1 revenue of $109.9 billion and Google Cloud growth of 63% with backlog topping $460 billion. Citizens just lifted its price target to a Street-high $515 from $385, framing Alphabet as the easiest AI winner.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is the other anchor, with AWS growing 28% and the company launching Amazon Supply Chain Services for outside customers including P&G, 3M, and American Eagle. AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) is the offset, slipping nearly 1% after HSBC moved to hold on tight 2026 semiconductor capacity.
Wall Street firm HSBC has downgraded shares of AMD (Nasdaq: AMD) to “hold” from “buy” with a $340 price target attached, warning there limited room for earnings upside because of capacity constraints.
Sideshow movers worth watching
GameStop (NYSE:GME) made an unsolicited $125-per-share cash-and-stock offer for eBay, valuing the platform at approximately $56 billion. eBay shares jumped to around $118, well shy of the bid, signaling deal doubt.
In crypto, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) rose 2.5% on a bipartisan CLARITY Act agreement, with Bitcoin topping $80,000 over the weekend for the first time since January.
Separately, Berkshire Hathaway beat estimates with EPS up 18% YoY and GAAP net income up 120%, sending shares fractionally higher in pre-market trading.
What to watch next
The VIX sits at near 17, down 33% from its late-March peak around 31, suggesting traders are not pricing in a sustained risk-off move. The 10-year Treasury at 4.4% sits in the 84th percentile of its 12-month range, the real pressure point if crude stays bid. Watch headlines out of the Strait of Hormuz and whether Alphabet and Amazon can keep the earnings tailwind intact through this week’s data.
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