Stock futures pointed lower Tuesday, a day after major indexes ended sharply higher, as oil prices returned to gains. Meanwhile, the two-day Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates begins today.
Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.3%, 0.2%, and 0.2%, respectively, in recent trading.
Yesterday, the major averages began the week with sharp gains as oil prices retreated after surging since the Middle East conflict broke out on Feb. 28. However, oil futures resumed their ascent today, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the U.S. oil-price benchmark, up 3% to $96.25 a barrel and Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, rising by a similar percentage to about $103 a barrel.
Oil futures rose in part because various U.S. allies rebuffed President Donald Trump’s desire for help reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping channel through which roughly 20% of the world’s crude normally passes. Iran has threatened to attack ships attempting to transit the Strait, causing tanker traffic to plummet and crude prices to jump. In addition, Israel said Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, was killed in airstrikes overnight.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects interest rates on all sorts of consumer loans, was little changed from Monday’s close at above 4.22% as the Fed policy meeting kicks off. The central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged this week amid uncertainty caused by the Iran war, with analysts predicting it will adopt a cautious, wait-and-see approach to monitor potential oil market disruptions and their economic impact.
Gold futures ticked higher to $5,010 an ounce, while silver futures were near flat at $80.70 an ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of currencies, edged higher to 99.78. Bitcoin was little changed on the day around $73,800.
Shares of all the Magnificent Seven tech giants were lower except for Nvidia (NVDA), which ticked higher before the bell. The world’s most valuable company’s weeklong GPU Technology Conference kicked off Monday with a keynote address from CEO Jensen Huang, who said he expects revenue from its Blackwell and Vera Rubin AI systems to hit $1 trillion through 2027.
Nvidia announced a slew of robotaxi collaborations, with its expanded partnership with Uber Technologies (UBER) sending shares of the ride-hailing giant up 2.5% in premarket trading.