U.S. stock futures declined on Monday following Friday’s mixed close. Futures of major benchmark indices were lower after President Donald Trump announced a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
On Friday, the Dow Jones index closed about 270 points lower after Iran blamed Israel for violating the ceasefire with attacks on Lebanon.
The peace talks being held in Islamabad collapsed on Sunday, after 21 hours of discussions. While Vice President JD Vance said that Washington would not compromise on its core demands, Iran stated that the demands made by the U.S. were excessive.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yields stood at 4.333%, and the two-year bond was at 3.822% at the time of writing. 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 April.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -0.48% |
| S&P 500 | -0.57% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.62% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.89% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were lower in premarket on Monday. The SPY was down 0.59% at $675.46, while the QQQ declined 0.68% to $606.91.
Stocks In Focus
Goldman Sachs
- Wall Street expects Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) to report quarterly earnings at $16.41 per share on revenue of $16.93 billion before the opening bell.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that GS maintains a strong trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a solid Momentum score.
Fastenal
- Analysts are expecting Fastenal Co. (NASDAQ:FAST) to post quarterly earnings at 30 cents per share on revenue of $2.19 billion.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that FAST maintains a strong trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a solid Growth score.
Children’s Place
- Shares of Children’s Place Inc. (NASDAQ:PLCE) tumbled more than 16% in Monday’s pre-market session after the company’s fourth quarter results missed expectations. Children’s Place reported a quarterly loss of $1.86 per share, missing the consensus estimate of a loss of $0.96 per share.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that PLCE maintains a weak price trend in short, medium, and long terms, with a poor momentum score.
IDEAYA Biosciences
- Shares of IDEAYA Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:IDYA) soared more than 16% before the bell ahead of the company’s announcement of topline results from its ongoing Phase 2/3 registrational trial, OptimUM-02.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that IDYA maintains a strong trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a solid Momentum score.
Cues From Last Session
Information technology, real estate and consumer discretionary stocks recorded the biggest gains on Friday. However, health care and consumer staples and financial stocks declined.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Dow Jones | -0.56% | 47,916.57 |
| S&P 500 | -0.11% | 6,816.89 |
| Nasdaq Composite | 0.35% | 22,902.90 |
| Russell 2000 | -0.22% | 2,630.59 |
Insights From Analysts
Allianz’s chief economic adviser, Mohamed El-Erian, painted a sobering picture following the announcement of a blockade by the U.S. in the Strait of Hormuz. He said that this would raise incremental costs for Iran, U.S., and the nations importing crude oil from the Middle Eastern country.
He also cautioned that the global economy would also be affected as a result of the blockade.
“Companies, countries, and households worldwide are facing the burden of what is likely to be another leg up in the price of energy, helium, fertilizers, etc.,” he said.
Michael Townsend, managing director of legislative and regulatory affairs at Schwab, cautioned that the Strait of Hormuz being blockaded would raise oil costs not just for Asia, but also the U.S. since oil is priced globally.
“There’s growing concern, both in Washington and among investors, that no matter how quickly the war ends, the economic fallout is likely to last for months,” he said.
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on this week.
- On Monday, existing home sales data for March will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve governor Stephen Miran is scheduled to speak at 6:20 p.m.
- On Tuesday, the producer price index for March will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Fed governor Michael Barr is scheduled to speak at 5:50 p.m. ET.
- On Wednesday, the import price index for March and the Empire state manufacturing survey for April will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
- Fed governor Michael Barr is scheduled to speak at 8:30 a.m. ET, while Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman will speak at 1:45 p.m. ET.
- On Thursday, initial jobless claims data for the week ending April 11 will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
- New York Fed President John Williams will speak at 8:35 p.m. ET, while Fed governor Stephen Miran will speak at 10:35 a.m. ET.
- On Friday, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly will speak at 11:30 a.m. ET, Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin will speak at 12:15 p.m. ET, while Fed governor Christopher Waller will speak at 2 p.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by more than 8% to hover around $104.55 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar declined 0.32% to hover around $4,733.17 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.32% higher at the 98.96 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 1.27% lower at $70,801.66 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.
Asian markets closed lower on Monday, except China’s CSI 300. India’s Nifty 50, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, Australia’s ASX 200 indices, South Korea’s Kospi, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 indices fell. European markets were mostly lower in early trade.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
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