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Happy Thursday. Stock futures were mixed as investors reacted to escalating U.S.-Iran tensions, higher oil prices and rising Treasury yields.
Iran targeted U.S. allies Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait with missiles and drones overnight in retaliation for the latest round of American airstrikes, which the U.S. military said struck Iranian military targets, CBS News reported.
“The latest exchange of strikes between the US and Iran has brought the Middle East firmly back into focus, with attacks extending across the Gulf and renewed disruption around the Strait of Hormuz,” said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
“Oil has consequently rebuilt some geopolitical premium, creating another potential inflationary headache at a time when markets are already debating whether US rates need to move higher.”
The key question, she added, is whether investors continue treating the Middle East as a manageable supply disruption or begin pricing in a more significant threat to growth and inflation.
“Any sustained surge in crude would make the latter increasingly difficult to ignore,” Hathorn said.
U.S.-based employers announced 52,881 job cuts in August, up 58% from July but down 38% from a year earlier, global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said Thursday. It marked the lowest August total since 2022.
Stocks closed higher Wednesday, with the major averages snapping a three-day losing streak.
