Market Moves and Oil Prices
U.S. stock futures pointed to further losses Tuesday but recovered from earlier lows as the opening bell neared. Futures for the S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures edged down 0.1%. Artificial-intelligence shares fell overnight on mounting safety concerns, while oil prices kept rising as fighting in the Middle East constrains the global flow of crude.[S1][S2]
Early Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude climbed $1.03 to reach $103.61 per barrel, while Brent, the global reference grade, added 0.3% to $106.94. Since the Iran conflict erupted in late February, both benchmarks have gained over 50%. According to AAA, that run-up has lifted the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline to $4.33, compared with $4.08 one month earlier and $3.18 a year ago.[S1][S2]
Bond Yields and Global Markets
Rising bond yields are adding to the pressure on equities. The 10-year Treasury yield stands at 5.01%, versus 3.97% before the Iran war started in February, marking a 19-year high. Concerns about mounting debt loads for the U.S. and other governments, among other worries, have driven longer-dated Treasury yields to their loftiest levels in roughly two decades.[S2]
The pullback in AI shares came after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Fortune in an interview published Saturday that the maker of ChatGPT would probably hold off until next year before pursuing a Wall Street stock sale. Such a delay would postpone a possible windfall for Softbank and other early backers of OpenAI.[S1]
