Futures linked to the major U.S. stock indices waver on Friday, with investors assessing fighting in the Middle East which has shown few signs of easing. Oil prices are on pace for big weekly gains, as fears surround supplies coming through the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway. Elsewhere, the February U.S. job report is due out, while Marvell Technology shares surge as artificial intelligence-driven data center spending fuels an annual revenue forecast increase.

1. Futures waver amid Iran conflict

U.S. stock futures ticked below the flatline, with sentiment fragile as the Iran conflict entered its seventh day.

By 04:20 ET (09:20 GMT), the Dow futures contract had dropped by 72 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures had slipped 15 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had fallen by 55 points, or 0.2%.

The main averages on Wall Street fell in the prior session, dragged down by a climb in oil prices as fears continued to swirl around the choking off of supplies through the narrow Strait of Hormuz waterway south of Iran.

U.S. crude futures have spiked by almost 21% since the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran. The fighting has since spread to other parts of the Middle East and Persian Gulf, threatening oil flows out of the major producing region.

Average gasoline costs in the U.S. have jumped by 27 cents following the start of the assault to $3.25 per gallon, according to Reuters, citing data from travel group AAA.

Faced with the prospect of increased gas prices, some investors have begun to worry that a prolonged conflict may spark a surge in inflationary pressures, which could delay the timeline for potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts later this year. U.S. bond yields have risen, denting stocks.

Beyond the U.S., soaring crude prices have weighed on Asian equities and currencies, especially in South Korea, which heavily imports oil that passes through the Strait of Hormuz. South Korea’s Kospi index ended the session broadly unchanged, but has slipped by 10.56% over the past one-week period. The main indices in Europe were also on course for their biggest weekly drops since last April.

2. Oil on pace for weekly jump

Oil prices were on track to notch hefty weekly gains, as traders remain worried that the conflict will close off the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply passes.

In a move to ease some these concerns, the U.S. has announced it would allow the sale of Russian oil to India for a period of 30 days.

"While this might help put some immediate downward pressure on the market, it is not a game-changer. The only way for prices to come down on a sustained basis is a resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz," analysts at ING said in a note.

The U.S. Treasury Department is also anticipated to unveil measures aimed at corralling energy prices through financial markets, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, there have been few signs that the fighting will soon let up. Israel launched strikes at Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and targeted Tehran, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards launched its own barrage of drones and missiles at Tel Aviv, media reports said.

Iran has also delayed the naming of a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S. and Israeli air strikes, the New York Times has reported. Ayatollah Khamenei’s son Mojtaba Khamenei is viewed as the frontrunner for the post, but U.S. President Donald Trump has called the possible appointment "unacceptable."

3. NFPs ahead

Although the Iran conflict has dominated the market narrative this week, investors will shift their gaze back to the state of the U.S. economy on Friday, when the February jobs report will be released.

The U.S. is expected to have added 58,000 roles last month, down from a blowout total of 130,000 in January, and the unemployment rate is seen matching January’s pace of 4.3%.

Fed policymakers have been keeping close tabs on a U.S. labor market which has been broadly resilient, even as hiring and firing activity has remained tepid. The Fed has left interest rates steady until more clarity emerges around the trajectory of employment.

Artificial intelligence may also color how the data is perceived. Workers and analysts have long flagged that the rise of new AI tools could lead to mass white-collar layoffs, as companies cite the technology as a means of cutting costs and increasing productivity. A move last week by Jack Dorsey’s payments firm Block to slash roughly 40% of its workforce heaped fuel on to these predictions.

4. Marvell spikes

Shares of Marvell Technology jumped by more than 14% in extended hours trading, after the semiconductor company lifted its full-year revenue outlook thanks to strong ongoing data center spending by AI hyperscalers.

Mega-cap companies like Amazon and Microsoft have made AI a central focus of their operations, and plan to shell out billions of dollars to rapidly build out the data centers that power and train the nascent technology.

Firms like Marvell, which designs and proves the internal plumbing that connects data between large-scale computer systems, have been key beneficiaries of the heavy spending.

CEO Matt Murphy told investors that the firm now expect annual revenue for its fiscal 2027 to rise by over 30% versus a year ago to nearly $11 billion. Marvell’s data center unit, in particular, is anticipated to power year-on-year revenue growth in each quarter of fiscal 2027, Murphy added.

5. Nvidia asks TSMC to stop producing China chips - FT

Nvidia has asked top contract chipmaker TSMC to stop producing chips intended for China amid continued sales headwinds from U.S. export controls, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. 

The world’s most valuable company has reallocated manufacturing capacity at TSMC away from its H200 chips to the next-generation Vera Rubin hardware, the FT reported, citing two people with knowledge of the matter.

The shift suggest that Nvidia no longer expects major sales of its H200 in China, especially amid increased uncertainty over U.S. export restrictions and Chinese regulatory pushback.

President Trump indicated in December that he would allow Nvidia to sell its H200 chips in China. While the H200 is a years-old chip, it is still the most advanced artificial intelligence processor Nvidia is allowed to sell in the country, under strict U.S. export controls. 

But Chinese sales had stalled as U.S. lawmakers pushed for stricter restrictions on how China could use the H200 chips. China was also seen pushing back against Nvidia, as part of a broader push by Beijing for complete self-reliance across the AI industry.