Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, S&P 500 Futures Gain as Scott Bessent Touts 'Toughest Sanctions' for Iran—Ross Stores, Strategy, Flowers Foods in Focus

U.S. stock futures advanced on Friday, as the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices rose, following Thursday’s lower close.

In response to the ongoing Middle East tensions, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the nation will levy "the toughest sanctions in history" against Iran. This statement comes after President Donald Trump previously threatened "Economic Warfare" along with "tremendous" ramifications for any countries assisting Tehran.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.69%, and the two-year bond was at 4.18%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool projections show markets pricing a 34.6% likelihood of the Federal Reserve hiking the current interest rates during its September meeting.

Index	Performance (+/-)
Dow Jones	0.35%
S&P 500	0.30%
Nasdaq 100	0.46%
Russell 2000	0.54%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were higher in premarket on Friday. The SPY was up 0.29% at $764.79, while the QQQ advanced by 0.44% to $714.07.

Stocks In Focus

Ross Stores

• Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) jumped 9.04% in premarket on Friday after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter financial results after the market close on Thursday.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that ROST maintains a strong price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a solid quality score.

Flowers Foods

• Flowers Foods Inc. (NYSE:FLO) fell 4.37% after reporting downbeat earnings for the second quarter. Its earnings of 21 cents per share missed the analyst consensus estimate of 23 cents per share, and sales of $1.193 billion missed the analyst consensus estimate of $1.228 billion.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that FLO maintains a weak price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a poor growth score.

OSI Systems

• OSI Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIS) dropped 14.48% after reporting mixed fourth-quarter financial results and issuing weak FY27 sales guidance. The company’s board approved an additional authorization to repurchase 1 million shares, bringing the total remaining authorization to 1,078,731 shares.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that OSIS maintains a strong price trend in the short term but a weak trend in the medium and long terms, with a moderate value score.

Strategy

• Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) soared 10.57% after President Trump urged Congress to pass the Clarity Act and said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig is working to bring Hyperliquid to the U.S.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MSTR maintains a weak price trend in the long and medium terms but a strong trend in the short term.

Advance Auto Parts

• Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE:AAP) rose 0.57% after a 24.55% decline on Thursday after the company reaffirmed its full-year 2026 sales, adjusted operating margin, capital expenditure, and free cash flow guidance, while revising adjusted EPS guidance to reflect higher interest income.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that AAP maintains a weak price trend in the short and medium terms but a strong trend in the long term, with a poor quality score.

Cues From Last Session

Thursday saw most S&P 500 sectors finish in the red, led by steep declines in health care, consumer discretionary, and consumer staples, though energy and real estate managed to buck the trend and close higher.

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Dow Jones	-1.32%	52,759.21
S&P 500	-0.87%	7,641.16
Nasdaq Composite	-1.00%	26,067.17
Russell 2000	-1.34%	2,992.43

Insights From Analysts

Tony Miano, Global Fixed Income Analyst at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, anticipates that the broader U.S. economy can withstand modest interest rate hikes due to underlying stability.

Addressing recent economic data, Miano views indicators like weak retail sales and slower job growth as “more likely signs of a pause than of growing economic weakness,” maintaining that “economic growth remains resilient” despite heightened borrowing costs.

While central bank policy remains central to the economic outlook, Miano notes that “inflation remains elevated,” leading his team to project “the Fed delivering two rate hikes over the coming year.”

Regarding markets, Miano highlights that rising interest rate risks could make the backdrop “unfavorable for long-term bonds.” As a result, he advises investors to avoid reaching for long-term maturities and instead favors shorter-term fixed income assets.

Short-term investment-grade corporate bonds, he explains, “continue to offer a compelling combination of yield, lower sensitivity to interest-rate changes, and less exposure to the risks facing longer-term bonds” amidst ongoing market volatility.

Upcoming Economic Data

Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Friday.

• August’s S&P flash U.S. manufacturing PMI and flash U.S. services PMI data will be released by 9:45 a.m. ET.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude Oil WTI futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.86% to hover around $86.08 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar rose 1.38% to hover around $4,581.57 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.24% lower at the 98.6560 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 9.4% higher at $78,459.21 per coin over the last 24 hours.

Asian markets were mixed on Friday, as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, China’s CSI 300, and South Korea’s Kospi indices rose. Australia’s ASX 200, India’s Nifty 50, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 indices fell. European markets were mostly higher in early trading.

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