U.S. Stock Pre-Market Update for April 29, 2026

I. Overall Pre-Market Overview

As of 08:37 ET on April 29, the three major index futures were diverging within a narrow range: the Dow fell 0.02% to 49,132 points, the S&P 500 fell 0.06% to 7,165 points, and the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.16% to 27,421 points. Overnight, the AI sector saw a collective pullback due to OpenAI's growth falling short of expectations. Capital shifted from high-valuation AI applications to energy, memory chips, and defensive consumer stocks. Volatility rose to 21.5, and the long-short battle entered a critical juncture.

II. Leading Sectors and Hot Stocks

The energy sector led the gains, with the U.S.-Iran negotiation deadlock and disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz pushing oil prices higher. WTI rose 3.55% to $103.48 per barrel, while Brent rose 3.09% to $107.63 per barrel. ETFs: USO rose 3.21% to $144.76 (highest elasticity), XLE rose 2.08% to $58.40 (best liquidity). Individual stocks: XOM rose 1.87% to $153.57 (upstream high profitability), OXY rose 2.24% to $69.99 (Buffett increased holdings), CVX rose 1.76% to $189.40 (dividend yield 3.2%). Small & Mid Caps: USEG rose 3.68% to $12.91 (production exceeded expectations), KOS rose 3.19% to $8.97 (asset revaluation), CLYM rose 2.57% to $5.41 (cost advantage).

Memory chips bucked the trend and strengthened, with Seagate's earnings report far exceeding expectations, leading to a 17.2% after-hours surge. Pre-market: STX rose 16.7% to $130.21, WDC rose 8.1% to $97.05, MU rose 3.2% to $112.63. AI leaders diverged: NVDA fell 0.38% to $212.92, AMD fell 0.79% to $164.35.

III. Capital Flows

Futu real-time data: Over the past 24 hours, net inflows into energy were $1.49 billion, memory chips $1.12 billion, and utilities $540 million. Net outflows from AI software were $1.32 billion, semiconductor equipment $790 million, and cloud computing $580 million. Hot capital flow ranking: Top three inflows were STX, USO, XLE; top three outflows were NVDA, ORCL, ARM.

IV. Key Events and Trading Strategy

Today is "Super Thursday," with Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta all releasing earnings reports after the market closes. Core focus is on AI capital expenditure and cloud growth rates. The Fed decision is due early tomorrow morning. CME data shows a 100% probability of holding rates steady, with a 20% probability of a rate cut in December.

Strategy: S&P 500 support level is 7130-7150 points, resistance is 7190-7210 points. For energy, focus on XLE, XOM, and pair with USO to hedge risk. For memory, deploy in Seagate and Western Digital. For AI, wait for earnings verification before entering.

V. Market Risks:

Earnings reports from the four major tech giants falling short of expectations; the Fed being more hawkish than expected; escalation of U.S.-Iran conflict pushing oil prices above $110; OpenAI's growth difficulties dragging down the AI industry chain.