Ahead of a pivotal trading week, stock futures moved lower as military tensions between the United States and Iran intensified in the Middle East, driving oil prices upward and pressuring artificial intelligence–related equities.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) eased less than 0.1%. S&P 500 futures (ES=F) slipped roughly 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ=F) paced the downturn with a 0.8% drop, following narrow gains posted by the two benchmarks last week.
Investor anxiety mounted after U.S. forces conducted renewed strikes near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, prompting Iranian counterstrikes targeting American allies such as Kuwait, Jordan, and Qatar. The escalation jeopardized ongoing U.S.–Iran negotiations to halt the conflict, even as President Trump acknowledged talks continued while declaring the ceasefire effectively finished.
Crude oil rallied, with Brent benchmark (BZ=F) revisiting $80 per barrel, after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced the Strait of Hormuz would be shut “until further notice” and barred transit “until the end of American interventions in this area.” U.S. officials, however, maintained that the critical waterway remained open.
The renewed regional conflict rekindled inflation concerns just as markets brace for two key inflation prints this week: the Consumer Price Index on Tuesday and the Producer Price Index on Wednesday. These data will offer fresh insight into the probability of Federal Reserve rate adjustments this year.
Attention also turns to the informal start of earnings season, headlined by major banks including JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Bank of America (BAC). Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) will shed light on AI chip demand, while Netflix (NFLX) and Dow member UnitedHealth (UNH) are also set to report.
