US Stock Futures Up as Investors Buy the Dip, Iran War Escalates

by Annika Inampudi of Bloomberg News, 3/17/26

US stock futures rose Tuesday as investors buy the dip, signaling confidence in the markets even as Iran war tensions escalate.

Contracts on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.22% as of 8:43 a.m. in New York after falling earlier in the session, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.1%. Brent crude oil prices hovered around $102. The Cboe Volatility Index fell to 23 from last week’s highs.

“The S&P 500, while slightly on its heels, is only about 4% off its highs from before the conflict,” said Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert Financial. “That tells me that the market and investor sentiment is holding up. At the end of the day, US markets still offer the best upside opportunities for investment, which is certainly backstopping at least some fear.”

Israel said Tuesday morning that Iran security chief Ali Larijani has been killed, marking the latest escalation in the Iran war. The move follows intensifying strikes by Iran, including a drone strike to a large gas field in the United Arab Emirates and a key UAE oil loading port, Fujairah, suspended operations again.

Over the weekend, a select few tankers trickled through the all-but-closed Strait of Hormuz, boosting investor sentiments that supply chain disruptions would abate. Experts suggest that these journeys are part of a traffic control system imposed by Iran, even as the US seeks to assert control.

President Donald Trump also requested a delay to his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for about a month as conflict continues to play out in the Middle East.

US diesel rose above $5 a gallon for the first time since December 2022 as the war continues to disrupt energy supplies, driving up fuel prices.

The Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day policy meeting Tuesday with a decision on interest rates to be announced Wednesday. Analysts widely expect officials to hold rates steady. The producer price index, will also be released Wednesday and give traders a look into inflation data for February.

Central bankers do not typically react to news disconnected from the business cycle, since “inflation returns to trend once shocks subside,” said Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank. “But this shock follows half a decade of inflation overshooting the Fed’s target, so they will be attuned to the risk that consumers’ and businesses’ inflation expectations follow prices at the pump higher.”

Elsewhere, Delta Air Lines Inc. shares rise after the airline raises its first-quarter revenue forecast, citing demand momentum. Data center optical components companies Coherent Corp. and Lumentum Holdings Inc. fall after Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said copper wires remain important in server racks.

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Bloomberg News provided this article. For more articles like this please visit bloomberg.com.

US Stock Futures Up as Investors Buy the Dip, Iran War Escalates

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