U.S. stock futures declined Thursday as oil prices climbed following a new round of military strikes between the United States and Iran, with investors also bracing for a key inflation reading before markets open.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.2%, with the Nasdaq $NDAQ 100 futures dropping roughly 0.3% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures retreating 62 points. The moves put the S&P 500 on pace to snap a winning streak that had included three consecutive record closes — its first such trifecta in 2026.
Crude oil markets pushed higher, with WTI gaining 1.8% to cross the $90-a-barrel threshold and the international Brent benchmark adding close to 2%, trading in the $94-to-$96 range after giving back a portion of the prior session's losses.
Driving the move in oil were reports that American military forces had carried out fresh attacks on a site inside Iran.
Reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping and eliminating Iran's highly enriched uranium reserves remain the stated objectives Trump has been pursuing through negotiations. A White House Cabinet meeting on Wednesday had provided the catalyst for the prior session's oil selloff, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that diplomatic channels with Iran were yielding results and that his preferred path forward was a negotiated settlement. However, Trump said he would not allow Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz as part of any deal.
Those developments followed a broadcast by Iranian state media claiming Tehran had committed to returning Hormuz shipping traffic to prewar volumes within 30 days of signing an agreement — a characterization the White House flatly rejected as "a complete fabrication," according to CNBC.
Beyond geopolitics, traders are watching the April personal consumption expenditures price index, due at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday. The PCE index is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge. A Dow Jones survey of economists points to a 3.8% annual rise in the index — more than a percentage point above the Fed's stated 2% goal — along with a 0.5% monthly uptick, according to CNBC. Strip out food and energy costs and the projections call for a 3.3% yearly gain and a 0.3% increase from March.