U.S. stock index futures fell on Sunday evening as signs of an escalation in the Iran war, after Yemen’s Houthi group joined the conflict, drove up oil prices and rattled risk-driven markets.
But futures trimmed some losses after President Donald Trump said talks were ongoing with Iran and that a deal “could be close.”
S&P 500 Futures fell 0.45% to 6,383.25 points by 21:50 ET (01:50 GMT). Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.5% to 23,200.0 points, while Dow Jones Futures fell 0.5% to 45,204.0 points.
Get more key insights on Wall Street and the Iran war by subscribing to InvestingPro
Losses in futures came following a deeply negative Friday session on Wall Street, as concerns over the Iran war and a renewed, deep selldown in technology shares weighed.
Trump says Iran talks ongoing, deal ‘could be soon’ President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday evening that negotiations with Iran were ongoing, and that he saw a deal with Iran as close, but did not specify a clear timeline.
“I think we’ll make a deal with them, but it’s possible we won’t… I do see a deal with Iran, could be soon,” Trump said.
Tehran has consistently rejected direct negotiations with the U.S. since the onset of the war in late-February.
The conflict showed few signs of easing over the weekend, especially after Yemen’s Houthis– an Iran-backed military organization– attacked Israel.
Their joining the war could open a new front in the conflict, given that the Houthis have the capacity to launch strikes in the Red Sea.
Separately, in an interview with the Financial Times, Trump said he was considering seizing Iran’s oil. A report from the Wall Street Journal said Trump was also weighing an operation to extract Iran’s uranium, with both moves likely to involve ground invasions of Iran.
Oil prices surged over 3% on Sunday evening, with Brent crossing $115 a barrel as markets bet on continued supply disruptions from the Iran conflict.
Wall St nurses deep losses on Iran fears, tech rout Wall Street indexes fell sharply on Friday, marking a fifth consecutive week of losses as risk appetite remained largely frayed by a continued conflict in the Middle East.
Technology stocks also clocked deep, sustained losses as traders locked-in strong profits in the sector after it surged in recent years on optimism over artificial intelligence.
Chipmaking stocks, including market major NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), were hit by concerns over more AI-related disruptions in the sector. Nvidia fell over 2% after chip designer Arm’s unveiling of a new AI server sparked concerns over new competition for the company.
Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) clocked extended losses after a U.S. court ruled that the two were liable in a social media addiction trial.
