Stock futures were little changed Wednesday, as investors awaited key consumer inflation data and continued to monitor the U.S.-Iran war and oil prices.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 33 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures chopped around the flatline. Earlier, futures tied to all three major indexes were in negative territory.
Investors are awaiting February’s consumer price index due Wednesday, seeking clues on the strength of the U.S. market and economy, particularly after signs of a weakening labor market have grown in recent months. Economists polled by Dow Jones anticipate that headline CPI rose 2.4% on a year-over-year basis.
On Tuesday, both the S&P 500 and 30-stock Dow closed lower, while the Nasdaq Composite inched up 0.01% on the day. Nine of the eleven S&P 500 sectors ended the session in negative territory, while communication services and technology posted narrow gains.
The broad market index is up 0.6% week to date, as fears about the Iran war have slightly eased, particularly after U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signaled that the conflict could end soon.
“I think we’re in a period where we had a bear market already in software, the Mag Seven, and in crypto. I think that’s already taken out a lot of speculation,” Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, said Tuesday afternoon on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”
Oil prices have taken dramatic swings week to date, surging to nearly $120 a barrel on Monday amid rising fears around the war in Iran. Prices slid on Tuesday, first on hopes that a group of nations would turn to emergency crude reserves and then after Energy Secretary Chris Wright wrongly said the U.S. Navy had escorted a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz.
The rally resumed on Wednesday morning — despite reports of a potentially historic emergency oil release by IEA countries — as both global benchmark Brent crude and U.S. crude prices jumped around 2.5% to trade above the $85 threshold.
In a Wednesday morning note, analysts at Goldman Sachs said the IEA’s proposed oil release would offset 12 days of their estimated 15.4 million barrels per day of export disruption. They said this could take $7 off of oil prices, assuming 50% of the emergency stock releases remain in OECD commercial storage.
Overnight, it was reported that American forces had sunk several Iranian ships, including 16 minelayers, near the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran was seeking to mine the critical shipping route at the center of concerns around oil supplies.
“We really think that the critical factor remains the war’s duration, so these releases of the IEA’s stocks really buys us a few days, but in reality, really it all depends on the opening of the Strait of Hormuz,” Sasha Foss, energy market analyst at Marex, told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” on Wednesday morning.
“This conflict needs to end by the end of the week. Otherwise, we’ll see oil prices spike back up over $100,” Foss said.
European markets open lower as traders monitor Iran war developments
European stocks opened lower on Wednesday, as traders monitored intensifying operations in the Middle East.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down almost 0.8% shortly after the opening bell. London’s FTSE 100 was 0.7% down, Germany’s DAX shed 1.2%, and France’s CAC 40 was 0.6% lower. Italy’s FTSE MIB was also down 0.8%.
German arms maker Rheinmetall reported full-year sales of 9.94 billion euros and profits of 1.68 billion euros on Wednesday, saying it’s in “prime position to help the US replenish their missile stockpiles” that are being used in the war with Iran.
— Sawdah Bhaimiya, Holly Ellyatt,
Oil prices inch back toward $90 mark
Oil prices moved higher early on Wednesday, despite a report that there would be a historic release of emergency reserves from the International Energy Agency.
By 4:35 a.m. ET, global benchmark Brent crude futures rose 2.2% to $89.72 a barrel, while U.S. crude oil gained 2.5% to trade at $85.55 a barrel.
It came after The Wall Street Journal reported that the IEA had proposed the largest ever release of oil from its strategic reserves.
Overnight, it was also reported that American forces had sunk several Iranian ships, including 16 minelayers, near the Strait of Hormuz.
“This conflict needs to end by the end of the week. Otherwise, we’ll see oil prices spike back up over $100,” asha Foss, energy market analyst at Marex, told CNBC’s “Europe Early Europe” on Wednesday.
— Chloe Taylor, Sam Meredith
Asia-Pacific markets closed mostly higher Wednesday
Asia-Pacific markets closed mostly higher Wednesday as investors assessed the ongoing Middle East war.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.59% to close at 8,743.5.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.43% to end the session at 55,025.37, while the Topix added 0.94% to close at 3,698.85. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.4% to 5,609.95, while the small-cap Kosdaq closed flat at 1,136.83.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.39%, while the CSI 300 added 0.64% to close at 4,704.50.
—Lee Ying Shan
Asia-Pacific markets trade higher as investors weigh developments in the Middle East
Asia-Pacific markets traded higher Wednesday as investors assessed the ongoing Middle East war.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.35% in early trade.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.36%, while the Topix added 1.22%. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 3.2%, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.39%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index rose 0.43%, while the CSI 300 added 0.19%.
—Lee Ying Shan
Oracle, AeroVironment, Cadre Holdings move in after-hours session
Take a look at the stocks moving after Tuesday’s close:
- Oracle — Oracle shares added more than 8% after the cloud infrastructure company gave strong fiscal third quarter results and lifted its revenue guidance for fiscal 2027. Management lifted its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook up $1 billion to $90 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG sought $86.6 billion.
- AeroVironment — Shares of the drones maker fell 10% in extended trading on the back of weak third-quarter results, specifically a hefty miss in revenue. AeroVironment reported adjusted earnings of 64 cents per share on revenue of $408 million for the period, which was less than the 69 cents per share on $476 million analysts were expecting, per LSEG.
- Cadre Holdings — Cadre, a maker of safety products, saw shares drop more than 5%. Cadre reported fourth-quarter earnings of 27 cents per share, which significantly missed the 40 cents per share estimate from analysts surveyed by FactSet. Its revenue of $167.2 million also fell short of the $182.9 million forecasted.
— Pia Singh
U.S. oil futures pop in extended trading
The futures contract for April delivery was last up more than 5% at $88.20 a barrel in extended trading.
U.S. oil futures ended the day down by nearly 12% in regular trading, settling at $83.45 a barrel.
It was a hectic session for energy prices, which tumbled on Tuesday even after Energy Secretary wrongly claimed that the U.S. Navy escorted a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later told reporters, “The U.S. Navy has not escorted a tanker or a vessel at this time.”
—Darla Mercado, Gina Francolla
Amazon wins court order to block Perplexity’s AI shopping agent
Amazon won a temporary injunction against Perplexity to block its Comet AI browser from scraping its website.
Amazon sued Perplexity in November, alleging the startup took steps to “conceal” its AI agents so they could continue to scrape the online retailer’s website without its approval. Perplexity called the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, a “bully tactic.”
Perplexity’s Comet allows shoppers to ask the assistant to find items on Amazon and make purchases.
