US stock market: Dow, S&P 500 futures fall as Iran war keeps investors cautious

The US stock market is likely to open lower in Tuesday's trading session, 10 March, as futures of the three key averages—the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite—are trading lower by 0.3%, 0.3%, and 0.2%, respectively, in pre-market trading, as investors continue to track the latest developments in the Middle East.

The ongoing Israel–Iran conflict has entered its 11th day, as both sides continue to attack each other, keeping the entire Middle East region on high alert.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday morning that “today will be yet again our most intense day of strikes inside Iran.” Speaking at the same Pentagon news briefing, the US Joint Chiefs chairman said Iran’s missile attacks have fallen 90%.

Addressing the media on Monday, Trump said the US administration would remove oil-related sanctions and suggested the war could end soon, easing market concerns that had pushed prices to multi-year highs.

Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed the strikes on Iran would continue.

Trump also said he plans to waive oil-related sanctions and have the US Navy escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz to keep oil prices in check.

Brent retreats from $120 peak

Crude oil prices, which have been running high since the start of the war, have corrected sharply from recent highs, with most of the decline occurring today, as concerns over supply shortages eased after US President Donald Trump indicated the Iran war could be short-lived and signalled the possibility of easing oil-related sanctions on some countries.

Brent crude, the international standard, spiked to nearly $120 on Monday before falling back, but was still trading at around $91 a barrel on Tuesday, nearly 24% higher than when the war started on 28 February.

Hours later, after addressing the media, Trump threatened in a social media post that the US would dramatically increase attacks if Iran tried to close the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps doubled down, saying in a statement that it “will not allow the export of even a single litre of oil from the region to the hostile side and its partners until further notice.”

Iran has effectively stopped tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman — the gateway to the Indian Ocean — through which nearly 20% of the world’s oil is transported.

Meanwhile, Amin Nasser, president and CEO of Saudi Aramco, said tankers were being rerouted to avoid the Strait of Hormuz and that its East-West pipeline would reach its full capacity of 7 million barrels a day, transporting crude to Yanbu on the Red Sea this week, Associated Press reported.

(With inputs from AP)

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