Futures Fall After Indexes Rebound; Oil Rises Further as Middle East Conflict Reaches 6th Day

Stocks were poised for a lower open Thursday, while oil prices rose further as tanker traffic remained halted in the Strait of Hormuz. 

Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 futures pointed down 0.5%, 0.3%, and 0.3%, respectively, about two hours before the opening bell.

Yesterday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq, benchmark S&P 500, and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up a respective 1.3%, 0.8%, and 0.5%, with the Dow snapping a three-session skid.

Oil futures continued their ascent since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran over the weekend, killing its Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and Iran retaliated against Israel and U.S. interests in several countries across the region. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures, the U.S. benchmark, surged 3.5% to $77.25 a barrel and have gained 15% this week as Iran claimed the important Strait of Hormuz was closed and it would set fire to any ship trying to pass.

Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects interest rates on all sorts of consumer loans, climbed to 4.12% from Wednesday’s close around 4.10%. The yield ended last week at 3.95% and has risen every day this week.

Gold futures advanced almost 1% to $5,175 an ounce, and silver futures added 1.5% to $84.40 an ounce. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of currencies, was 0.2% higher at 98.99.

Bitcoin, which sank to as low as $63,000 in the immediate aftermath of the attacks on Iran on Saturday, was trading around $73,000, little changed on the day.

In post-earnings moves, shares of Broadcom (AVGO) surged 6.5% before the bell, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) jumped 5.5%, and StubHub (STUB) plunged 15%. Shares of Costco Wholesale (COST), which reports results after markets close today, pointed slightly lower.

Shares of the Magnificent Seven stocks were mixed and little changed before the bell. Amazon (AMZN) stock slipped less than 1% following the company’s roughly 4% advance yesterday to lead the Dow.