Futures Signal Modestly Lower Start for U.S. Markets: Dow Jones, S&P, Nasdaq, Wall Street

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower on Monday morning, indicating Wall Street could open softer after last week’s strong rally pushed major indexes to fresh record closing highs.

Investors appeared cautious following Friday’s gains, with some traders potentially taking profits after the Nasdaq and S&P 500 extended their recent advance.

Rising Oil Prices Add Pressure to Sentiment

A sharp rebound in crude oil prices also weighed on market sentiment, with U.S. crude futures rising more than 2%.

Oil prices climbed after President Donald Trump dismissed Iran’s response to a U.S. proposal aimed at ending the prolonged conflict in the Middle East, describing the offer as “totally unacceptable” in a post on Truth Social.

Iranian state media reported that Tehran’s counterproposal included demands for compensation related to war damages as well as formal recognition of Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

Despite escalating tensions, U.S. equities have recently remained resilient, supported by stronger-than-expected corporate earnings and confidence in the broader economic outlook.

Inflation and Economic Data in Focus This Week

Market participants are expected to closely monitor upcoming reports on consumer and producer prices this week as investors assess whether higher oil prices are beginning to feed through into inflation.

Attention will also turn toward retail sales and industrial production figures, alongside quarterly earnings reports from companies including Under Armour (NYSE:UAA) and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO).

Nasdaq and S&P 500 Ended Last Week at Record Highs

Stocks rallied strongly on Friday following Thursday’s pullback, with technology shares leading the gains.

The Nasdaq Composite surged 440.88 points, or 1.7%, to finish at a new record closing high of 26,247.08. The S&P 500 rose 61.82 points, or 0.8%, ending at 7,398.93, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 12.19 points to close at 49,609.19.

Over the course of the week, the Nasdaq advanced 4.4%, the S&P 500 climbed 2.3%, and the Dow edged up 0.2%.

Strong U.S. Jobs Report Boosted Investor Confidence

Friday’s gains followed the release of a closely watched U.S. labor market report showing significantly stronger-than-expected hiring in April.

The Labor Department reported that non-farm payrolls increased by 115,000 jobs during the month after an upwardly revised gain of 185,000 jobs in March.

Economists had forecast payroll growth of 63,000 jobs, compared with the originally reported 178,000 increase in March.

The report highlighted solid hiring across healthcare, transportation and warehousing, and retail industries, while employment within the federal government continued to decline modestly.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3% in April, matching both the prior month and analyst expectations.

Middle East Tensions Remain in Focus

The labor data helped ease concerns surrounding the economic fallout from the ongoing Middle East conflict, despite overnight military exchanges between the U.S. and Iran near the Strait of Hormuz.

According to reports, three U.S. destroyers came under attack from Iranian missiles and drones while transiting the strait. U.S. Central Command stated that incoming threats were intercepted and that retaliatory strikes targeted Iranian military facilities linked to the attacks.

In a later phone interview with ABC News’ Rachel Scott, President Trump described the retaliatory action against Iran as “just a love tap” and insisted that the ceasefire agreement remained in place.

U.S. Central Command also said American forces disabled two Iranian-flagged oil tankers attempting to enter an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman.

Technology and Gold Stocks Lead Sector Gains

Technology-related sectors posted some of the strongest gains on Friday, helping drive the Nasdaq to record territory.

The NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index jumped 6.6%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed 5.5%.

Gold mining shares also moved higher as gold prices edged upward, lifting the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index by 3.2%.

Networking, steel and telecommunications stocks also recorded solid advances, while pharmaceutical companies underperformed and closed lower.

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