Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 23, 2026.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
U.S. stock futures were little changed on Monday night after the major averages staged a relief rally, fueled by traders’ hopes that a resolution may be in sight for the U.S.-Iran conflict.
S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were trading marginally higher. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1 point.
In Monday’s regular session, the S&P 500 climbed 1.15%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.38%. The 30-stock Dow popped 631 points, or 1.38%. All three major averages posted their best session since early February.
The gains came after President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that the U.S. and Iran have held “very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.” Iranian state media reported that there were no direct talks between the two countries, however. Stocks surged, with the Dow up more than 1,100 points on the day at one point.
Oil prices also cooled. West Texas Intermediate futures settled down about 10.3% at $88.13 per barrel, and Brent futures slid nearly 11% to $99.94 a barrel.
Over the weekend, the president had threatened an attack on Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz wasn’t reopened, while Iran in turn said that it would target U.S. infrastructure as a retaliatory tactic.
Despite the optimistic tone of Trump’s Monday comments, Citi U.S. equity strategist Scott Chronert doesn’t believe that investors are out of the woods just yet.
“We still have a lot of wood to chop in terms of where oil prices end up shaking out; how those impact underlying economic conditions. So we think we’re okay for right now with this down 5% to 10% narrative, but we have to be on the lookout that the risks are still out there and are still pretty notable,” he said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Monday afternoon.
On Tuesday morning, traders will watch out for data on U.S. manufacturing levels.
