U.S. stock futures rose on Monday following Friday’s sharp sell-off. Futures of the major benchmark indices were higher after they entered the correction territory last week, falling more than 10% below their 52-week highs.
The markets head into the truncated trading week with Good Friday on April 3; however, investors will watch out for March’s employment report, as it is not a federal holiday but just a market holiday.
Meanwhile, over the weekend, President Donald Trump suggested that the U.S. could seize Iran’s oil infrastructure, including the key export hub on Kharg Island. He said his “favorite thing” would be to “take the oil in Iran,” while adding the U.S. has “a lot of options.”
Trump also characterized Iran’s new leaders as “very reasonable” and indicated a possible agreement between the two countries.
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.39%, and the two-year bond was at 3.89%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 96.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in its April meeting.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.42% |
| S&P 500 | 0.48% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.47% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.56% |
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 Monday. The SPY was up 0.61% at $637.97, while the QQQ advanced 0.59% to $565.89.
Stocks In Focus
Palantir Technologies
- Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) rose 0.66% after it announced the renewal and expansion of its long‑standing partnership with Stellantis NV (NYSE:STLA). The new five‑year agreement continues a collaboration that began in 2016.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that PLTR maintains a weak price trend over the medium term but a strong trend in the long and short medium terms, with a solid growth score.
Rezolve AI
- Rezolve AI PLC (NASDAQ:RZLV) jumped 12.42% after raising its revenue outlook, targeting $350 million in annual revenue and $500 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by 2026 after acquiring Reward Loyalty for $230 million.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that RZLV maintains a weak trend in the long, short, and medium terms.
Entera Bio
- Entera Bio Ltd. (NASDAQ:ENTX) dropped 8.85% after it posted a loss of 6 cents per share for the fourth quarter.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that ENTX maintains a weak price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a solid growth score.
TotalEnergies
- TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) rose 2.01% after it signed a long‑term partnership agreement with EDF Group to secure low‑carbon electricity supply for TotalEnergies’ Refining & Chemicals Sites in France.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TTE maintains a strong trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a solid value score.
Progress Software
- Progress Software Corp. (NASDAQ:PRGS) was up 0.04% as analysts expect it to post quarterly earnings at $1.57 per share on revenue of $246.40 million after the closing bell.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that PRGS maintains a weak price trend in the short, medium, and long terms with a moderate quality score.
Cues From Last Session
Consumer staples and energy stocks bucked the trend to close higher on Friday, even as most S&P 500 sectors, led by sharp declines in financials, consumer discretionary, and communication services, ended in the red.
The S&P 500 marked a fifth straight weekly loss with a 2.1% drop. The Nasdaq slid 3.2% over the week, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated by 0.9%.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Dow Jones | -1.73% | 45,166.64 |
| S&P 500 | -1.67% | 6,368.85 |
| Nasdaq Composite | -2.15% | 20,948.36 |
| Russell 2000 | -1.75% | 2,449.70 |
Insights From Analysts
Mohamed El-Erian paints a sobering picture of a U.S. economy and stock market grappling with “stagflationary winds” triggered by the expanding Middle East conflict.
With all major indices falling into correction territory, El-Erian warns that the market is finally internalizing a “new realization”: the economic damage is already significant, and policy headroom is dangerously thin.
He highlights a shifting landscape where resilient growth is being undermined by energy supply shortages and sticky inflation. El-Erian notes that investors must now brace for “a deeper, more prolonged disruption to the global economy” and the “heightened risk of credit and liquidity risks feeding into one another.”
This environment has effectively dismantled the safety of the classic 60/40 portfolio, which recently suffered one of its worst monthly declines.
Looking ahead, El-Erian expects the narrative to be defined by three unsettling themes: “volatility, dispersion, and fragmentation.”
As central banks shift toward a more hawkish stance to combat rising prices, he cautions that the path forward remains in “escalation mode,” leaving the markets with far more questions than answers regarding the eventual endpoint of this geopolitical and financial downdraft.
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on this week.
- On Monday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will speak at 10:30 a.m., and New York Fed President John Williams will speak at 4:00 p.m. ET.
- On Tuesday, January’s S&P Case-Shiller home price index data for 20 cities will be released by 9:00 a.m., and March’s Chicago Business Barometer (PMI) data will be out by 9:45 a.m. ET.
- February’s job openings and March’s consumer confidence data will be out by 10:00 a.m., Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee will speak at 12:00 p.m., Fed governor Michael Barr will speak at 3:00 p.m., and Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman will speak at 5:10 p.m. ET.
- On Wednesday, February’s delayed U.S. retail sales and retail sales minus autos data, along with March’s ADP jobs data, will be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
- St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem will speak at 9:05 a.m., Fed governor Michael Barr will speak at 9:10 a.m., and March’s S&P final U.S. manufacturing PMI will be out by 9:45 a.m. ET.
- March’s ISM manufacturing data and January’s delayed business inventories report will both be released by 10:00 a.m. ET.
- On Thursday, initial jobless claims for the week ending March 28 and February’s U.S. trade deficit data will be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
- On Friday, March’s U.S. employment report, unemployment rate, hourly wages, and hourly wages year over year data will be out by 8:30 a.m. ET.
- March’s S&P final U.S. services PMI will be released by 9:45 a.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 1.23% to hover around $100.87 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.96% to hover around $4,535.91 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.10% higher at the 100.2500 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 1.59% higher at $67,728.30 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.
Asian markets closed lower on Monday, as China’s CSI 300, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, India’s Nifty 50, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, and Australia’s ASX 200 indices fell. European markets were mostly higher in early trade.
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