U.S. stock futures rose on Tuesday following Monday’s positive close. Futures of the major benchmark indices were higher amid the ongoing Iran-U.S. conflict.
Monday’s rebound came as President Donald Trump said that the U.S. campaign against Iran could be nearing its endpoint, saying Tehran’s military capacity has been heavily degraded.
The most dramatic action occurred in the options market. By 2:10 p.m. ET, oil prices were near $120 a barrel, and the S&P 500 was down over 2%. However, by 3:30 p.m. ET, the $675 strike SPY call options jumped 24,650% from $0.02 per contract to $4.95, in roughly 80 minutes.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.10%, and the two-year bond was at 3.54%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 97.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in March.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.38% |
| S&P 500 | 0.40% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.55% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.42% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were higher in premarket on Tuesday. The SPY was up 0.47% at $681.44, while the QQQ advanced 0.60% to $611.40.
Stocks In Focus
Lumentum And Coherent
- Shares of Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) and Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR)rose 4.47% and 4.03%, respectively, following the announcement on Friday that the companies would be added to the S&P 500 later this month. This follows Nvidia Corp.‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) $2 billion investments in both companies.
- LITE maintains a strong price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value ranking, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.
Strategy
- Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) jumped 3.06% after the Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) Treasury company disclosed the purchase of 17,994 Bitcoin between March 2 and March 8 for $1.28 billion, or roughly $70,946 per token.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MSTR maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms.
Casey’s General Stores
- Casey’s General Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) dropped 2.19% after reporting mixed results for its second quarter after the closing bell on Monday.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CASY maintains a strong price trend over the short, medium, and long terms with a solid quality score.
Vail Resorts
- Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE:MTN) declined 1.28% after posting downbeat earnings for the second quarter and reducing its fiscal 2026 guidance.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MTN maintains a weaker price trend over the medium and long terms, but a strong trend in the short term, with a moderate value score.
Oracle
- Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) was up 2.40% as analysts expect it to report earnings of $1.71 per share on revenue of $16.91 billion, after the closing bell.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that ORCL maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms with a poor value score.
Cues From Last Session
Communication services, health care, and information technology stocks recording the biggest gains led most S&P 500 sectors to a positive close on Monday.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Dow Jones | 0.50% | 47,740.80 |
| S&P 500 | 0.83% | 6,795.99 |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1.38% | 22,695.94 |
| Russell 2000 | 1.12% | 2,553.67 |
Insights From Analysts
Jeffrey Buchbinder and Adam Turnquist of LPL Financial maintain a tactically neutral stance on equities despite the ongoing conflict in Iran.
While they acknowledge that geopolitical shocks “understandably cause nervousness,” they emphasize that the S&P 500 has historically been resilient, typically experiencing pullbacks of only 4.5% on average before stabilizing within a month.
The strategists identify the energy market as the primary economic risk, noting that a prolonged shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz could push oil prices over $100 a barrel. However, they believe a full-scale recession remains unlikely, asserting that the global economy is “unlikely to be derailed.”
Buchbinder and Turnquist encourage investors to avoid emotional decisions and remain diversified. Their core message is one of patience: “Those who ride out the ups and downs, in time, will be grateful they did.”
They view the current volatility as a potential opportunity, stating that the LPL Strategic Tactical Asset Allocation Committee (STAAC) will look to “add equities at lower levels” rather than exiting the market due to short-term disruptions.
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Tuesday.
- NFIB optimism index for February will be released by 6:00 a.m. ET.
- February’s existing home sales data will be out by 10:00 a.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 8.02% to hover around $87.17 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.82% to hover around $5,178.71 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.58% lower at the 98.6030 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin was trading 4.67% higher at $70,953.83 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.
Asian markets closed higher on Tuesday, as Australia’s ASX 200, India’s Nifty 50 indices, China’s CSI 300, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and South Korea’s Kospi indices rose. European markets were also mostly higher in early trade.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
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