US equity futures are higher into the long weekend, with the S&P 500 gaining for an 8th consecutive week higher, its longest streak of weekly wins since 2023 with sustained momentum in popular thematics, thanks to a liquidity boost, supportive macro readings, solid earnings and hopes that the US and Iran are moving closer to a peace deal, not to mention unrelenting enthusiasm for artificial intelligence which is fueling a historic gamma squeeze.

As of 7:30am ET, S&P futures are 0.2% higher, cutting overnight gains of 0.5% by more than half, and Nasdaq future gain 0.1% with most Mag 7 banes higher pre market led by GOOG/L (+0.4%) and NVDA (+0.3%). Bond yields are 1-2bp lower led by the belly of the curve; the 10-year yield is down two basis points to 4.55%; the softer-than-expected Japan CPI drove 30Y JGB yield 3.6bp lower (now back below 4%), which supported global bond markets. The USD is higher, while commodities are mixed: WTI crude added $2.10 to $98.50 this morning; precious metals are lower; Brent rebounded 2.6% to above $105 a barrel, but remained lower for the week. Ags are higher. Economic data slate includes May final University of Michigan sentiment (10am) and Kansas City Fed services activity (11am). Fed speaker slate includes only Waller at 10am

In premarket trading, Mag 7 stocks are mixed (Alphabet +0.06%, Nvidia +0.2%, Apple +0.07%, Tesla +0.05, Amazon -0.2%, Microsoft +0.1%, Meta -0.2%)

In other news, SpaceX delayed a critical test of its massive Starship rocket just seconds before launch after a pin holding the tower arm in place failed to retract. Polymarket has appointed a representative in Japan and is preparing to lobby for the authorization of prediction markets in the country.

Markets are heading into the weekend on a quieter note, shaking off worries that severe disruptions to energy flows from the Middle East could stoke inflation. Signs that neither Iran nor the US is looking to widen their conflict and growing appetite for a broader group of AI beneficiaries have kept volatility subdued despite conflicting reports around peacetalks. A drop in the VIX to the lowest since early February is helping the mood, as are some chunky numbers on announced corporate equity purchases.These have already exceeded $1 trillion for 2026 across new stock buybacks and cash takeovers, according to EPFR data.

Those looking for signs of economic resilience can point to the “US exceptionalism” that strategists at Evercore ISI saw in Thursday’s S&P PMI data. They lauded the contributions from domestic energy production, AI capex and wealth creation. Exceptional, too, is the performance by tech and AI since the start of the Iran War. A basket of stocks exposed to the Anthropic AI ecosystem has surged 56% since the start of March while the equal-weighted S&P 500 is flat.

On the subject of AI, Bloomberg notes that talks between the EU and Anthropic over testing banks and companies for digital vulnerabilities have stalled. Lenovo jumped to 26-year highs in Hong Kong trading after AI-related sales surged 84% year-on-year. DeepSeek’s senior management is said to have told potential investors in its ongoing 70 billion yuan ($10 billion) funding round that the startup will prioritize groundbreaking AI research over short-term commercialization.

“We’ve got the biggest capital spending boom since the financial crisis,” said Guy Miller, chief market strategist at Zurich Insurance.“That’s leading to record corporate profitability; we are in this virtuous circle where it’s generating profitability for other suppliers, other companies too.”

“The market is fully aware that headlines will remain volatile, and while oil needs to react for practical reasons, equities have probably moved on,” said Geoff Yu, senior macro strategist at BNY. “The lack of an agreement does not imply re-escalation, so the focus for now will stay with earnings and data.”

In politics,Alberta’s Premier said she’ll call a referendum on whether the energy-rich province should stay in Canada or start a legal process that could eventually lead to its independence. China imposed new export controls on some key chemical ingredients shipped to the US, Mexico and Canada, in a further sign of cooperation with Washington on curbing drug trafficking.

Source: ZeroHedge News