U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday morning after President Donald Trump addressed the nation on the Iran war and hinted at further escalation. Trump’s comments sent shockwaves across global markets. Markets were expecting positive comments about de-escalation. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 Index (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were down 1.97%, 1.55%, and 1.41%, respectively, at 8:30 a.m. EDT on April 2.
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In his speech Wednesday evening, Trump stated that the U.S. is on pace to achieve all military goals soon, while cautioning that Iran could face severe strikes over the coming two to three weeks. He offered no specific exit strategy or hints of a ceasefire, leaving investors anxious.
Trump’s comments pushed up oil prices as traders worried about increased strain on the oil supply. At the time of writing, the international oil benchmark Brent (CM:BZ) jumped 7.55% to trade at $108.79 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CM:CL) rose 9.48% to $109.74 per barrel.
During Wednesday’s regular trading, the three major indexes closed higher for the second straight day on earlier hopes that the Iran war was about to end soon. The Dow Jones added 0.48%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite surged 0.72% and 1.16%, respectively.
Coming to trending stocks, shares of Globalstar (GSAT) rallied more than 12% after the Financial Times reported that Amazon (AMZN) is in talks to acquire the company. Meanwhile, shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), and Diamondback Energy (FANG) were up about 3%, 2.4%, and 3.5%, respectively, on higher oil prices.