Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Monday, March 16, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
S&P 500 futures were near the flat line Monday night after the major averages bounced in light of cooling oil prices.
S&P 500 futures slipped 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures declined nearly 0.2%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 47 points, or 0.1%.
Major averages rebounded in the regular session as oil prices eased from the previous week’s surge. The S&P 500 added 1%, after the broad-market index closed last week at its lowest level of the year amid the U.S.-Iran war. The Dow gained roughly 388 points, or 0.8%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.2%.
Each of the 11 S&P sectors closed higher on the day, led by gains in tech. Nvidia shares advanced about 1.7% after CEO Jensen Huang said during the company’s annual GTC conference that he expects $1 trillion in orders for Nvidia’s Blackwell and Vera Rubin systems through 2027.
Monday’s decline in oil prices boosted sentiment behind U.S. equities. Brent crude settled down about 2.8% to $100.21 a barrel on Monday. West Texas Intermediate crude fell about 5.3% to settle at $93.50 a barrel.
Oil prices have surged since the start of the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran on worries that a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz could lead to a global disruption of energy supplies. Although Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the U.S. is allowing Iranian oil tankers to pass through the key waterway, President Donald Trump on Monday signaled that a coalition to escort tankers through the strait is not yet finalized.
Investors are watching for further developments on the war. Many are crediting a relatively strong economy, contained inflation and strong earnings for continued momentum behind the stock market, but Bartlett Wealth Management president Holly Mazzocca said on Monday that “risks to that growth story are mounting.”
“We came into this year with a pretty strong foundation, but especially the labor market has weakened pretty significantly. So that’s the big question for investors right now, is just being realistic that the overall risks to that continued growth story are higher today than they were just a few weeks ago,” Mazzocca said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”
On the earnings front, Lululemon, Docusign and Oklo are expected to post results Tuesday.
Separately, investors are awaiting this year’s second Federal Reserve interest rate decision, which is scheduled for Wednesday. Expectations for rate cuts have diminished as inflation worries have ramped up since the start of the Iran war, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
