Oil prices fell back slightly amid an uptick in ship traffic through the Hormuz Strait, while U.S. stock futures rose in early European trade as enthusiasm returned to the artificial‑intelligence trade. Nasdaq futures jumped 1.2% after the tech‑heavy index had its best day in over a month Thursday, as investors piled back into AI‑linked stocks following positive earnings from tech giants Microsoft and Amazon.

The AI optimism drove the volatile Kospi to its biggest daily rise on record in Korea, and European tech stocks also rallied. Oil fell slightly, but remains on track for a monthly surge of around 20%. Ship‑tracking data show a modest increase in tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and Saudi Arabia unveiled plans for a multinational maritime defense coalition to protect international shipping.

The dollar recovered from a six‑week low after possible intervention by Japanese officials to support the struggling yen. Investors remain on watch for further intervention Friday and await U.S. second‑quarter employment cost index data. Oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron reported Friday.

In the U.S., futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.5%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%, and Nasdaq futures rose 1.2%. Amazon shares surged 12% pre‑market on revenue growth in its cloud computing business, while Apple fell 7.4% after saying it expects growth to slow.