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U.S. stock index futures dropped sharply on Monday as escalating conflict in the Middle East pushed oil prices well above $100 a barrel, raising fears that higher energy costs could weigh heavily on the U.S. economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By 06:15 ET (10:15 GMT)<\/strong>, Dow Jones Futures fell more than 540 points, or 1.1%<\/strong>, while S&P 500 Futures declined 70 points, or 1%<\/strong>, and Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 270 points, or 1.1%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The weakness followed a negative week on Wall Street, where all three major indices ended with losses of at least 1% as intensifying fighting in the Middle East fueled concerns about global economic stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Markets were rattled after crude oil prices spiked sharply following an escalation in the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran<\/strong> over the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude surged close to $120 per barrel<\/strong>, as traders grew increasingly worried about potential supply disruptions and risks to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>, one of the world\u2019s most important oil transit routes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The surge in energy prices has heightened concerns that a new energy shock could push inflation higher and reduce consumer spending in the United States<\/strong>, potentially slowing economic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A prolonged rally in crude could also complicate the Federal Reserve\u2019s monetary policy outlook<\/strong>, as elevated energy costs may keep inflation pressures high even as other parts of the economy begin to cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva<\/strong> warned that rising oil prices could have significant consequences for global inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking at an event in Japan, Georgieva said that a sustained 10% increase in oil prices could raise global headline inflation by around 0.4 percentage points<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThink of the unthinkable and prepare for it,\u201d she said, highlighting the risks posed by geopolitical tensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her remarks follow the release of a weaker-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for February<\/strong>, which raised fresh concerns about the strength of the American labor market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Monday\u2019s economic calendar is relatively light, investors are looking ahead to several important data releases later in the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The U.S. consumer price index (CPI)<\/strong> report is scheduled for Wednesday, offering a key gauge of inflation trends. On Friday, markets will also receive the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index<\/strong>, the Federal Reserve\u2019s preferred inflation measure, along with new data on job openings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These indicators could play a crucial role in shaping expectations for future interest rate policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Geopolitical tensions remain high after Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei<\/strong> as the country\u2019s new Supreme Leader following the assassination of his father, Ali Khamenei<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mojtaba Khamenei, widely viewed as a hardliner, is expected to maintain a confrontational stance toward Western countries. U.S. President Donald Trump<\/strong> has described his leadership as \u201cunacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump also commented Sunday that the rise in oil prices was an acceptable consequence of military action against Iran\u2019s nuclear program<\/strong>, even as higher fuel costs begin to filter through to U.S. gasoline prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the corporate front, Hewlett Packard Enterprise<\/strong> is scheduled to report its latest quarterly earnings after the market closes Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later in the week, investors will also watch results from Kohl\u2019s, Oracle, Dollar General, and Dick\u2019s Sporting Goods<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Hims & Hers Health<\/strong> surged more than 50% in premarket trading<\/strong> after a report by Bloomberg indicated that Novo Nordisk plans to sell its weight-loss drugs through the company\u2019s telehealth platform<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The partnership marks an unexpected reconciliation between the two companies following a recent legal dispute. Shares of Hims had fallen roughly 51% earlier this year<\/strong>, making Monday\u2019s rally particularly notable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" U.S. stock index futures dropped sharply on Monday as escalating conflict in the Middle East pushed oil prices well above $100 a barrel, raising fears that higher energy costs could weigh heavily on the U.S. economy. By 06:15 ET (10:15 GMT), Dow Jones Futures fell more than 540 points, or 1.1%, while S&P 500 Futures …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":53440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6827,49,39,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-daily-economic-reports","category-economic-reports","category-global-stock-markets","category-market-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124494,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124493\/revisions\/124494"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Oil surge fuels inflation fears<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
IMF warns of inflation impact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Key U.S. inflation data ahead<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Leadership change in Iran adds to uncertainty<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Corporate developments in focus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n