State television, as relayed by Reuters, quoted Iran's Navy as claiming it had turned back warships it labeled "American-Zionist" from entering a designated zone. The Fars news agency separately alleged that two missiles hit a U.S. ship after the vessel disregarded warnings — an assertion no outside party was able to verify. Adding another layer of ambiguity, a senior Iranian official cited by Reuters said only that a warning shot had been fired and that the question of damage remained unresolved.
Stock futures had slumped further — the Dow contract falling about 300 points at its worst — before recovering after the U.S. denial.
The market turbulence follows a strong stretch for equities. Friday's session added another milestone, marking the 12th time in 2026 the S&P 500 finished at a record close, with the Nasdaq $NDAQ Composite joining it at a new all-time high. First-quarter results have been unusually strong, with Goldman Sachs $GS calculating a 16% adjusted earnings gain and noting that, aside from the post-COVID reopening window, the share of companies missing EPS expectations has not been this low in a quarter century, according to MarketWatch.
Shares of European carmakers retreated after the president announced a planned increase in automobile tariffs on E.U. imports, lifting the rate to 25% from 15%.
The April jobs report is due Friday. Forecasters tracked by Dow Jones are projecting April payroll growth of just 53,000, a steep drop from the 178,000 positions added in March, with the jobless rate seen holding at 4.3%, according to CNBC.
