Major U.S. index futures point to a stronger open on Monday, with equities set to recover from last week’s severe plunge. Bargain shopping may help Wall Street start strong as traders buy stocks at lower prices after recent setbacks. Last week’s drop pushed the major averages to their lowest closing levels in eight months. Optimistic words from President Donald Trump regarding the Middle East war may potentially spur early buying. This morning on Truth Social, Trump said the U.S. has made “great progress” in talks with a “new, and more reasonable, regime” to halt military operations in Iran. However, Trump warned that the U.S. will “conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)” if no deal is made soon
However, when crude oil prices rise on concerns about the Middle East war, buying appetite may be limited. Stocks fell dramatically on Friday, adding to the previous session’s losses. Early morning, the major averages fell and fell more throughout the day. The major averages recovered from their worst levels but still lost heavily. The Nasdaq fell 459.72 points or 2.2 percent to 20,948.36, the Dow down 793.47 points or 1.7 percent to 45,166.64, and the S&P 500 fell 108.31 points to 6,368.85. The Nasdaq fell 3.2 percent, the S&P 500 2.1 percent, and the Dow 0.9 percent for the week. The major averages closed at their lowest levels in eight months due to severe losses. International benchmark Brent crude prices rose beyond $110 a barrel after rising more than 5% on Thursday, weighing on Wall Street.
Even though President Donald Trump paused hitting Iran’s energy projects for 10 days until April 6, crude oil prices rose. According to Iranian official media, negotiations with Iran are “going very well,” while Trump stated on Truth Social that Tehran “responded negatively” to a U.S. peace approach. Washington claims progress in peace talks, while Tehran denies their existence, according to Russ Mould. He noted that fighting continues and the crisis’s resolution is undetermined. “Oil prices, probably the best indicator, remain elevated and have reached $110 per barrel again.”
Mould stated that the longer crude oil prices remain high, the higher the fear of substantial inflation. On the day, airline stocks fell 4.7 percent, sending the NYSE Arca Airline Index down. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell sharply due to losses in biotechnology, software, and computer hardware sectors. Gold stocks defied the downturn as the price of gold rose sharply, while financial, retail, and healthcare companies fell.