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Dow Jones Industrial Average futures shed 196 points, or 0.4%. S&P 500 futures lost 0.4%, while Nasdaq-100 futures dropped 0.3%.
To be sure, equity market losses were kept in check, as traders remain hard-pressed to fully price in a worst-case scenario on the war given stocks’ recovery from near correction territory to all-time highs.
“News flow from the Middle East was net negative over the weekend but (as was the case last weekend) the overall process still seems to be on a trajectory of deescalation,” wrote Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge.
President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. had fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman. This comes after Iran declined to join another round of peace talks in Pakistan planned by the U.S.
The Iranian ship “is under U.S. Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board,” Trump said in Truth Social post.
Trump also threatened to blow up all power plants and bridges in Iran if the country didn’t agree to a deal with the U.S. A ceasefire between the two countries will expire this week.
Crude prices surged following the developments. West Texas Intermediate futures popped 6% to above $88 per barrel. International Brent advanced 6% to above $95 per barrel.
Wall Street is coming off a winning week, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbing to all-time highs following a ceasefire between Iran and Lebanon. At the time, Iran had declared that the Strait of Hormuz was reopened, though by Saturday vessel traffic through that key shipping lane was restricted again, with state media saying the U.S. “did not fulfill their obligations.”
Trump has reiterated that the U.S. blockade of the strait would remain in place until Iran agreed to U.S. demands, despite the Iranian declarations.
The S&P 500 last week gained 4.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite popped around 7%. The latter also posted on Friday its 13th consecutive winning session, matching a streak not seen since 1992.
“After the Nasdaq has rallied for 13 days in a row on hopes for a deal, we ended the week very overbought on a short term basis. And now the situation with Iran is gotten even more complicated and uncertain on when this conflict will end and when the Strait will fully reopen without fear of attack,” Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners, told CNBC in an email.
“The only question with Monday trade, assuming news doesn’t change again, will be the extent of the market pullback?” he added.
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