U.S. stock index futures dipped on Thursday after President Donald Trump flagged an escalation in military action against Iran over the next two to three weeks.
Futures had initially traded steady ahead of Trump’s address, but slid into negative territory after Trump’s comments pointed to little immediate de-escalation in the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
S&P 500 Futures fell 1.2% to 6,539.0 points by 03:54 ET (07:54 GMT). Nasdaq 100 Futures slid 1.5% to 23,842 points, while Dow Jones Futures dropped 1% to 46,331.0 points.
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Futures slid after Wall Street clocked a strong start to April, as initial hopes for a potential Iran ceasefire and bargain buying into tech sparked a two-day rally in U.S. stock markets.
Trump says US to hit Iran ’extremely hard’ in next 2-3 weeks Speaking from the White House on Wednesday evening, Trump said the U.S. will ramp up its operation against Iran in the coming weeks and that Washington was close to achieving its objectives.
"We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks," Trump said. He reiterated the need to debilitate Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and also claimed that Iran’s navy and missile strike capabilities had been largely wiped out.
Oil prices surged over 5% after Trump’s address, as the president also reiterated his stance that the U.S. will not push for a reopening in the Strait of Hormuz-- a key shipping channel largely blocked by Iran.
Trump claimed earlier on Wednesday that Iran’s "new President" had requested a ceasefire-- claims that were largely denied by Iranian officials.
The U.S. president kept up his threats of attacking Iran’s electricity infrastructure if Iran did not accept a deal.
Trump’s comments largely quashed hopes for a de-escalation in the conflict, especially after the president said earlier this week that the U.S. will wind down military operations against Iran in two-three weeks. His comments on Wednesday now point to an escalation in the Iran war before any military pullback.
Wall St rallies on Iran hopes, bargain buying Wall Street indexes clocked a two-day rally on hopes of an end to the Iran war, while bargain buying after a bruising March also spurred gains. Wall Street logged deep losses in March as the onset of the Iran war fueled concerns over energy-driven spikes in inflation.
The S&P 500 jumped 0.7% on Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite added 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively. All three indexes surged between 2% and 4% on Tuesday.
Technology stocks were a key target of bargain buyers after largely underperforming their peers through March, as doubts over artificial intelligence disruptions and softer chip demand weighed heavily.
Among major aftermarket movers, satellite telecommunications company Globalstar Inc (NASDAQ:GSAT) surged 16% to an 18-year high after the Financial Times reported that Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) was in talks to buy the firm.
