The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower open on Monday, with stocks likely to give back ground following the substantial rally seen last week.
Concerns about the re-escalation of tensions between the U.S. and Iran may weigh on the markets following the latest developments in the Middle East.
Over the weekend, Iran once again closed the Strait of Hormuz and purportedly fired on tankers in the vital waterway, blaming the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports for the moves.
President Donald Trump called Iran's actions a "total violation" of the ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran, which is currently set to expire this week.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump also said he is sending representatives to Islamabad, Pakistan, for talks with Iran, although Tehran has denied there are plans for a second round of negotiations.
Trump once again threatened to knock out every single power plant and bridge in Iran if the country refuses to make a deal.
The latest threats combined with news that U.S. forces have seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, have contributed to a significant rebound by the price of crude oil.
U.S. crude oil futures are currently surging by more than 5 percent but have given back ground after reaching a high above $90 a barrel.
Extending the strong upward move seen over the past several sessions, stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Friday. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 once again reached new record closing highs, while the Dow reached its best closing level in almost two months.
The major averages ended the day off their highs of the session but still posted strong gains. The Dow surged 868.71 points or 1.8 percent to 49,447.43, the Nasdaq shot up 365.78 points or 1.5 percent to 24,468.48 and the S&P 500 jumped 84.78 points or 1.2 percent to 7,126.06.
For the week, the Nasdaq skyrocketed by 6.8 percent, the S&P 500 soared by 4.9 percent and the Dow spiked by 3.2 percent.
The rally on Wall Street came following news that Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz completely open to commercial traffic on the heels of the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the Strait of Hormuz is "completely open and ready for business" but said the U.S. will continue its blockade of Iranian ports until a final peace agreement is reached.
The news of the temporary reopening of the strait led to a nosedive by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures plummeting by more than 10 percent and dropping well below $90 a barrel.
The markets also continued to benefit from optimism about the potential end of the U.S. war with Iran following the latest comments by Trump.
At an event in Las Vegas on Thursday, Trump claimed the "war in Iran is going along swimmingly" and "should be ending pretty soon."
Trump's latest remarks echo similar optimistic predictions he has made throughout the war, but his comments continue to generate positive sentiment on Wall Street.
The strength on Wall Street may also have reflected optimism about the strength of corporate earnings ahead of the release of quarterly results from several big-name companies this week.
However, shares of Netflix (NFLX) plunged by 9.7 percent after the streaming giant reported better than expected first quarter results but provided disappointing second quarter guidance.
Airline stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 6.4 percent to its best closing level in well over a month.
Substantial strength was also visible among housing stocks, as reflected by the 3.7 percent spike by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.
Gold stocks also moved sharply higher along with the price of the precious metal, resulting in a 3.2 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
Steel, networking and semiconductor stocks also saw considerable strength, while oil producer stocks showed a significant move to the downside.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are soaring $4.67 to $88.52 a barrel after plummeting $10.84 to $83.85 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after climbing $71.30 to $4,879.60 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are sliding $45.40 to $4,834.20 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 158.91 yen versus the 158.61 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1761 compared to last Friday's $1.1762.
Asia
Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Monday, even as regional gains remained somewhat modest amid uncertainty surrounding the second round of diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran.
Hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a delegation to Islamabad, Iran rejected participation in a second round of peace talks, citing Washinton's excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the continuing naval blockade, which it considers a breach of the ceasefire.
The dollar firmed to a one-week high in Asian trading, sending gold prices down about 1 percent to below $4,800 an ounce.
Brent crude prices soared nearly 6 percent toward $96 a barrel after the U.S. forcibly seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship and Tehran vowed to retaliate.
China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.8 percent to 4,082.13 as the People's Bank of China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged for an eleventh straight month, in line with market expectations.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.8 percent to 26,366.68, led by technology stocks. Tencent Holdings rallied 2.6 percent on expectations that Hunyuan 3.0 and WeChat AI agents will help consolidate its AI positioning.
Japanese markets advanced after record-setting gains on Wall Street last week. The Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.6 percent to 58,824.89, while the broader Topix Index settled 0.4 percent higher at 3,777.02.
SoftBank Group soared 5.5 percent after introducing an AI-focused smartphone in Japan.
Seoul stocks ended higher despite renewed Middle East tensions and caution ahead of the upcoming earnings season. The Kospi closed up 0.4 percent at 6,219.09.
Chip giant SK Hynix surged 3.4 percent ahead of its earnings release due this week.
Australian markets recovered from an early slide to end on a flat note. National Australia Bank shares tumbled 3.6 percent after the country's largest business lender said it expects credit impairment charges to double in the first half as a result of the Iran war.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index finished marginally higher at 12,915.45 after a volatile day of trading.
Europe
European stocks have moved sharply lower on Monday amid renewed tensons between the United States and Iran.
Tensions between the countries entered a new phase after the U.S. seized an Iranian vessel and Iran said it would not send a negotiating delegation for peace talks. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed, reviving inflation and interest-rate fears.
Meanwhile, German producer prices declined at the slowest pace in a year in March amid energy price fluctuations caused by the war in the Middle East, according to data from Destatis released earlier today.
Producer prices logged an annual fall of 0.2 percent in March, following a 3.3 percent decrease seen in February. This was the slowest decrease since March 2025, when prices dropped the same 0.2 percent.
On a monthly basis, producer prices showed a renewed increase of 2.5 percent versus a 0.5 percent decline in February. The expected rise was 1.4 percent.
While the German DAX Index is down by 1.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 1.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.6 percent.
Airline stocks have slumped as Brent crude prices jumped more than 6 percent on concerns over the potential for prolonged disruption in global energy markets. easyJet, Schneider Electric shares have also fallen. The French energy technology company has partnered with professional services firm Deloitte to help organizations accelerate digital transformation and modernize operations.
Freenet, a German network independent telecommunications provider, has also moved lower after placing a promissory note loan with a total volume of 350 million euros.
Conglomerate Siemens has also moved to the downside after launching the AI Engineering Agent for automation engineering.
On the other hand, British engineering firm Renishaw has soared after lifting its full-year revenue and profit forecasts.
U.S. Economic News
No major U.S. economic data is scheduled to be released today.
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.