Traders prepare as sales of MDA Space Ltd begin at the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on March 12, 2026 in New York City.
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Stock futures were little changed on Thursday night as investors await key U.S. inflation data. The report comes as surging oil prices in the wake of the Iran war continues to weigh on stocks.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 16 points, or 0.03%. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.04%, while Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.05%.
In Thursday’s regular session, the three major averages notched closing lows for 2026. The 30-stock Dow fell nearly 740 points to post its first close below the 47,000 threshold this year, while the S&P 500 lost 1.5%.
Stocks came under pressure and oil spiked after Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said that the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route, should remain shut as a “tool to pressure the enemy.” West Texas Intermediate futures climbed 9.72% to settle at $95.73 per barrel. Brent crude futures gained 9.22% to end the session at $100.46 a barrel, marking its first close above $100 since August 2022.
Higher oil prices, along with several other key hurdles in the market, are causing investors pain, according to Chris Toomey, managing director at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management.
“You’ve got the [artificial intelligence] buildout, you’ve got private credit … and this energy situation,” he said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” “I think the energy situation is the thing that we’re most concerned about.”
Toomey added that if Strait of Hormuz sees sustained impairment beyond two or three months, that “becomes a real problem.”
Higher oil prices and growing inflation fears have also dampened investors’ expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year. Traders are now awaiting the release of January’s personal consumption expenditures price index — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — due Friday morning.
The Dow Jones consensus calls for the headline PCE to have gained 0.3% on a month-to-month basis and 2.9% from 12 months earlier. The estimate for core PCE, which excludes energy and food prices, is anticipated to have gained 0.4% for the month and 3.1% from a year earlier.
The three major averages are on pace for losses on the week. The S&P 500 is on track for a 1% decline, while the Dow is heading for a 1.7% slide. The Nasdaq is off 0.3% week to date.