US Futures Drop on Middle East War
2026-03-02 00:04
By
Jam Kaimo Samonte
1 min. read
US stock futures declined on Monday as the escalating conflict in the Middle East unsettled financial markets.
The US and Israel carried out military strikes on Iran over the weekend that resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran retaliated by targeting US assets across the region, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq and Syria.
The geopolitical flare-up adds to an already fragile backdrop for equities, with Wall Street coming off another selloff on Friday as investors questioned whether rapid AI adoption could sideline traditional software providers.
On Friday, the Dow fell 1.05%, the S&P 500 shed 0.43% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.92%.
Hotter-than-expected US inflation data also indicated that companies are passing tariff costs on to consumers, further complicating the outlook for Federal Reserve rate cuts.