U.S. stock futures climbed Monday as oil prices retreated from session highs after Iran signaled it remained open to negotiations, offering investors some relief following nine consecutive days of American strikes on the country.
Iran's signal that diplomacy remains possible pulled crude back from its highs, giving equity futures a lift Monday morning
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
U.S. stock futures climbed Monday as oil prices retreated from session highs after Iran signaled it remained open to negotiations, offering investors some relief following nine consecutive days of American strikes on the country.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.36%, Nasdaq $NDAQ-100 futures gained 0.78%, and Dow futures advanced about 121 points, or 0.23%. Brent crude futures briefly topped $90 a barrel, reaching their highest level since early June, before pulling back to around $88.25. U.S. crude futures traded near $82.25, down slightly on the day.
The pullback in oil prices came after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei stated publicly that back-channel communications with Iran had persisted throughout the U.S. strikes and that the two sides could still pursue a negotiated outcome in line with national interests, according to CNBC.
All three major U.S. benchmarks ended last week with losses. The S&P 500 shed 1.6%, the Nasdaq Composite gave back 2.9%, and the Dow slipped 0.9%. For the semiconductor ETF, it marked a third down week out of the past four, with a cumulative loss approaching 9%.
Investors are also turning their attention to second-quarter reporting season, with Alphabet $GOOGL, Tesla $TSLA, IBM $IBM, and Intel $INTC among the companies due to post results shortly, according to The Wall Street Journal. Beyond earnings, the week offers little in the way of economic catalysts, as Fed officials have entered a communications blackout before their rate decision the following Wednesday.
The Cboe Volatility Index slipped to 18.22, a decline of roughly 2.93% on the session, a reading that pointed to diminishing short-term fear in the market.
Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge argued that the market broadly doubts Washington has the appetite for a significant military build-up in the region — including a ground presence — and that absent such a step, a negotiated end to the conflict looks unavoidable, according to CNBC.
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