U.S.-Iran Uncertainty May Lead To Initial Pullback On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower open on Tuesday, with stocks likely to move back to the downside after recovering from an early sell-off to end the previous session mostly higher.

Lingering concerns about the conflict in the Middle East may weigh on Wall Street as the price of crude oil regains ground after plummeting overnight.

Crude oil for April delivery plunged by nearly 11 percent to a low of $84.43 a barrel but has since bounced back above $90 a barrel.

The volatility in the oil markets comes amid uncertainty about the U.S. war with Iran after President Donald Trump’s latest remarks about the conflict.

Trump said in a press conference on Monday that the war against Iran could end “very soon” but provided few details about his end game.

The president claimed in a subsequent post on Truth Social that Iran would be hit “twenty times harder” if they do anything that stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz.

“We will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!” Trump said.

Echoing Trump’s confidence, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asserted in a press conference this morning that Iran is “badly losing” but said the U.S. will still be launching its “most intense day of strikes” in Iran today.

Stocks moved sharply lower in early trading on Monday but showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the session. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels and into positive territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the recovery.

The major averages surged in the final hour of trading, closing not far off their highs. The Nasdaq jumped 308.27 points or 1.4 percent to 22,695.95, the S&P 500 advanced 55.96 points or 0.8 percent to 6,795.99 and the Dow climbed 239.25 points or 0.5 percent to 47,740.80.

Early in the session, the Dow tumbled by as much as 1.9 percent and the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both slumped by as much as 1.5 percent, hitting their worst intraday levels in over three months.

The late-day rally on Wall Street came after President Donald Trump purportedly told a CBS News reporter the U.S. war with Iran could be over soon.

In a post on X, CBS News’ Senior White House Correspondent Weijia Jiang said Trump told her, “I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force.”

Trump also said that the U.S. is “very far” ahead of his initial four to five week estimated time frame, according to Jiang.

In a separate post, Jiang said Trump told her that he is thinking about taking over the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in a nosedive by the price of crude oil.

An extended surge by the price of crude oil contributed to the early weakness on Wall Street, with crude spiking above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022 and reaching a high of nearly $120 a barrel.

The continued increase came following reports major oil producers Iraq, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are cutting production.

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed due to Iranian threats against tankers, the countries are said to be running out of storage space.

Semiconductor stocks helped lead the turnaround on Wall Street, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiking by 3.9 percent after tumbling by as much as 2 percent to a two-month intraday low.

Computer hardware, networking and biotechnology stocks also moved sharply higher over the course of the session, contributing to the jump by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Airline stocks also showed a substantial rebound, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 1.8 percent. The index plummeted by as much as 6.2 percent to its lowest intraday level in over three months in early trading.

Oil service and healthcare stocks also moved to the upside on the day, while some weakness remained visible among telecom stocks.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are plunging $4.47 to $90.30 a barrel after surging $3.87 to $94.77 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after slumping $55 to $5,103.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $84.80 to $5,188.50 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 157.92 yen compared to the 157.64 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1628 compared to yesterday’s $1.1636.

Asia

Asian stocks rallied on Tuesday as concerns over the U.S.-Iran conflict eased following comments by U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting the war was “very complete.”

Trump’s remarks coupled with reports suggesting Washington may soften sanctions on Russian energy injected a burst of optimism, sending bond prices tumbling and crude oil prices plunging by nearly 10 percent at the start of Asian trading.

Oil prices recouped some losses later after finance ministers from the G7 countries broadly agreed to delay the release of oil from their strategic reserves.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.7 percent to 4,123.14. CATL shares jumped 5.3 percent after the world’s biggest battery maker reported higher than expected earnings.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged 2.2 percent to 25,959.90 as Trump’s remarks helped ease inflation concerns and revived investor demand for riskier assets.

Japanese markets ended sharply higher as energy prices dropped and bond yields retreated on expectations of easing war-related risks. The Nikkei 225 Index soared 2.9 percent to 54,248.39, with semiconductor-related stocks doing well.

Tokyo Electron added 2.9 percent, Advantest climbed 5.3 percent and Furukawa Electric surged 8.5 percent. The broader Topix Index settled 2.5 percent higher at 3,664.28.

South Korea’s Kospi finished 5.4 percent higher at 5,532.59, led by tech heavyweights and airline stocks. Samsung Electronics, Korean Airn and SK Hynix surged 8-12 percent. An intraday gain above 6 percent triggered a “sidecar” curb that briefly halted program trading on the main bourse during the morning session.

Australian markets advanced, with mining and tech stocks leading the recovery. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 1.1 percent to 8,692.60, giving up some early gains. The broader All Ordinaries Index added 1.1 percent to close at 8,924.20.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index finished marginally lower at 13,094.37 as early gains faded.

Europe

European stocks have bounced back on Tuesday after ending lower for three consecutive sessions on concerns that a deepening conflict in the Middle East could fuel inflation and dent economic growth.

Investor sentiment improved somewhat after U.S. President Donald Trump said the war in the Middle East could come to a quick end, sending bond yields tumbling and oil prices plunging.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have issued a stern warning, saying they would not allow “one liter of oil” to be shipped from the Middle East if military strikes by the U.S. and Israel continue.

“If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far,” Trump said in a social media post.

The German DAX Index is up by 1.8 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 1.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.2 percent.

French automaker Renault has moved sharply higher after announcing it is targeting substantial international expansion by 2030.

German peer Volkswagen has also shown a strong move to the upside after saying it targets a margin of 8-10 percent in 2030.

Fashion group Hugo Boss has also surged after reporting a 2025 annual operating profit that surpassed expectations.

Wind turbine manufacturer Nordex Group has also soared on receiving orders from Wpd totalling nearly 280 MW.

U.S. Economic News

The National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on existing home sales in the month of February at 10 am ET.

Existing home sales are expected to dip to an annual rate of 3.88 million in February after plunging to a rate of 3.91 million in January.

At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is due to announce the results of this month’s auction of $58 billion worth of three-year notes.