Stock Futures Sink After US, Israel Attack Iran; Oil, Gold Jump

Stock futures dropped and oil and gold futures surged Monday after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran over the weekend. 

Nasdaq 100, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and S&P 500 futures pointed down 1.6%, 1.2%, and 1.2%, respectively, with Dow futures shedding 550 points.

On Friday, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, tech-heavy Nasdaq, and benchmark S&P 500 finished down a respective 1.1%, 0.9%, and 0.4%, after a hotter-than-expected Producer Price Index reading. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended lower for February, while the Dow finished 0.2% higher for its 10th straight month of gains.

Early Saturday, a military strike killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and others caused damage throughout the country. Iran, in turn, retaliated against Israel and U.S. interests in several countries across the region. Yesterday, President Donald Trump said the U.S. plans to continue its combat operations in Iran for several more weeks.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures, the U.S. benchmark, soared nearly 8% in recent trading to above $72 a barrel. Shares of U.S. oil giants Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) surged 5% and 4%, respectively, in premarket trading, while those of Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and Phillips 66 (PSX) were up a respective 7% and 3%.

Shares of defense contractors Lockheed Martin (LMT), RTX (RTX), and Northrop Grumman (NOC) also jumped, gaining 5.5%, 5.5%, and 4.5%, respectively, before the bell.

However, airline and cruise stocks dropped, with shares of U.S. carriers Delta Air Lines (DAL), United Airlines Holdings (UAL), and American Airlines Group (AAL) down between 5.5% and 6.5%, and those of cruise operators Royal Caribbean Group (RCL), Carnival (CCL), and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) down between 6.5% and 8%.

Nvidia (NVDA) shares, which fell 5.5% and 4% the last two trading days last week even though it had reported blockbuster results after the bell Wednesday, pointed down a further 1.5% in premarket trading. Shares of the other six Magnificent Seven big tech companies also were lower before the bell.

Meanwhile, safe-haven gold futures surged nearly 3% to $5,400 an ounce—their highest level since hitting a record above $5,625 in late January—and silver futures rose 2% to $95.25 an ounce.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury notes, which affects interest rates on all sorts of consumer loans, was at 3.98% after closing Friday at 3.95%.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of currencies, was 0.7% higher at 98.28.

Bitcoin, which trades continuously, recently was trading around $66,300. It dropped from a high on Friday around $68,000 to as low as $63,000 early Saturday in the immediate aftermath of the strikes before rebounding yesterday.