Dow Jones Today: Stock Futures Slide, Oil Prices Surge as Investors Monitor Israel-Iran Conflict

Stock futures fell sharply and oil prices soared Friday morning as Israel launched strikes against Iran’s nuclear program and key personnel, heightening concerns about the possibility of a broader conflict in the region.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were each down 1% recently, while Nasdaq futures tumbled 1.2%. Coming into today’s session, the major indexes were on pace to post weekly gains for the third consecutive week after closing higher on Thursday, as investors have welcomed news of progress on trade deals and better-than-expected reports on inflation.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, were up 8% at around $73.50 per barrel—after moving as high as $77.60, the highest level since January—amid concerns about possible supply disruptions. Gold futures rose 1.2% to $3,445 an ounce, near their highest level in two months, as some investors turned to the traditional safe haven asset.

Travel stocks were among the big decliners in premarket trading. Airlines Delta (DAL), American (AAL) and United (UAL) each dropped about 5%, as did cruise operator Carnival (CCL).

Shares of the world’s largest technology companies, which have been at the forefront of the stock markets recent rally, were mostly lower this morning. Nvidia (NVDA), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOG), Meta Platforms (META), Broadcom (AVGO) and Tesla (TSLA) were all down more than 1%, while Microsoft (MSFT) was down slightly. Apple (AAPL) shares inched higher.

Oil sector stocks were sharply higher, tracking the move in crude. Oil producers Devon Energy (DVN), APA Corp. (APA), Diamondback Energy (FANG) and Occidental Petroleum (OXY) each gained about 5%, while oil majors Chevron (CVX) and ConocoPhillips (COP) rose 3% and 4%, respectively.

Defense sector stocks also gained ground. Shares of Lockheed Martin (LMT) were up 3%, while RTX Corp. (RTX) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) each climbed about 4%.

Bitcoin was at $105,100, down from around $106,000 yesterday afternoon but up from an overnight low of less than $103,000. The digital currency was trading above $110,000 earlier this week, approaching its record high of just below $112,000.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of consumer and business loans, was at 4.35%, down from 4.36% at yesterday’s close, but up from an earlier low of 4.32%, its lowest level in a month. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, rose 0.5% to 98.40, after hitting a three-year low.