After moving notably lower over the two previous sessions, stocks are likely to see further downside in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a sharply lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 1.1 percent.
The downward momentum on Wall Street comes after the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran over the weekend, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
The conflict in the region escalated further today after Israel launched airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon following projectile fire from Lebanese territory into northern Israel.
President Donald Trump suggested the conflict with Iran could go on for the next four weeks, raising concerns about a significant widening of hostilities in the region.
The attacks have led to a spike in the price of crude oil, potentially adding to recent concerns about the outlook for inflation.
“Scenes in the Middle East have caused widespread nervousness across financial markets,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. “The U.S. attacks on Iran have caused oil prices to soar amid fears of disruptions to supplies, pushing up costs for businesses and consumers.”
He added, “If the issues persist then the market will start to worry about new inflationary pressures and that could lower expectations for near-term interest rate cuts.”
Shortly after the start of trading, the Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release its report on manufacturing activity in the month of February.
The ISM’s manufacturing PMI is expected to edge down to 51.8 in February after jumping to 52.6 in January, but a reading above 50 would still indicate growth.
Stocks moved notably lower during trading on Friday, extending the pullback seen during Thursday’s session. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq adding to the steep loss posted on Thursday.
The major averages ended the day well off their lows of the session but still in negative territory. The Dow slumped 521.28 points or 1.1 percent to 48,977.92, the Nasdaq slid 210.17 points or 0.9 percent to 22,688.21 and the S&P 500 fell 29.98 points or 0.4 percent to 6,878.88.
For the week, the Dow tumbled by 1.3 percent, the Nasdaq slumped by 1.0 percent and the S&P 500 decreased by 0.4 percent.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid by 1.4 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunged by 2.1 percent.
The major European markets have also shown significant moves to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 2.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 2.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 1.5 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are soaring $5.47 to $72.49 a barrel after surging $1.81 to $67.02 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after jumping $53.70 to $5,267.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are spiking $170.80 to $5,418.70 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 157.43 yen versus the 156.03 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1707 compared to last Friday’s $1.1813.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Likely To See Early Slump After U.S. Attacks Iran
2026-03-02 13:58:34
