Futures tied to major U.S. equity benchmarks moved slightly lower on Wednesday as Iranian forces continued exchanging air strikes with the United States and Israel in a deepening Middle East conflict. Oil prices climbed as attention remained focused on the near halt of oil and gas shipping through the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s southern coast. Gold rebounded after a stronger U.S. dollar had previously weakened the precious metal’s safe-haven appeal. CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) issued annual guidance broadly in line with expectations, while reports suggest OpenAI may be evaluating a new agreement with NATO.
Futures move lower
U.S. stock futures pointed to a modest decline early Wednesday following volatile swings in the prior session, as investors tracked the widening conflict in the Middle East that could threaten global energy supplies.
At 02:58 ET, Dow futures were down 109 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures slipped 15 points, or 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 91 points, or 0.4%.
Wall Street’s main indices ended Tuesday in negative territory, although they recovered some of the heavier losses seen earlier in the day. Rising U.S. Treasury yields contributed to the volatility, driven by expectations that surging oil prices could fuel inflation and push back potential interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
“While other government bond yields have shown similar patterns, the effect is particularly strong in the U.S. where a greater number of cuts had been priced in,” Bradley Saunders, North America Economist at Capital Economics, told Investing.com.
The confrontation between Iran and U.S.–Israeli forces has now entered its fifth day, with Iranian missile attacks targeting U.S. military installations across the Middle East and in several Gulf states. Although a senior American military commander said the campaign against Tehran is progressing ahead of the “game plan,” concerns are mounting that the fighting could evolve into a prolonged regional conflict.
Aside from the geopolitical tensions, investors were also watching developments in private credit markets following a sharp increase in withdrawals from Blackstone’s flagship private credit fund.
Oil continues to rise
A major concern for financial markets is the possibility that hostilities in the Middle East could cause lasting disruptions to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping route responsible for moving a significant share of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
Brent crude, which had been trading near $73 per barrel before the attacks on Iran began, has surged sharply. Brent futures were last up 2.6% at $83.48 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 2.5% to $76.41 per barrel.
Earlier on Tuesday, oil prices briefly jumped as much as 8%, before retreating from those highs after President Donald Trump indicated that the United States could begin escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Natural gas prices have also surged in both Europe and Asia. Iranian strikes on a Qatari gas facility disrupted exports from the major supplier, tightening supply conditions in several countries dependent on these shipments.
Meanwhile, diesel prices have also increased, potentially pushing transportation costs higher — a key factor in inflation calculations.
Rising energy prices have weighed particularly heavily on Asian stock markets. Economies in East Asia, including South Korea and Japan, depend heavily on oil and gas imports that pass through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving them especially vulnerable to disruptions along the narrow maritime corridor south of Iran. South Korea’s Kospi index fell so sharply on Wednesday that trading had to be temporarily halted.
Gold rebounds
Gold prices climbed on Wednesday in the latest swing of volatile trading for the precious metal.
Spot gold rose 1.7% to $5,176.75 after dropping nearly 5% during the previous session. Gold futures also advanced by 1.3%.
The U.S. dollar index traded largely unchanged after climbing nearly 1.5% over the past two days.
While gold is typically viewed as a safe-haven asset during times of geopolitical stress or rising inflation, its appeal had recently been weakened by the stronger dollar. Investors also appeared cautious after the metal reached record highs in recent sessions.
CrowdStrike reports results
In corporate news, CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street expectations and provided fiscal 2027 guidance broadly in line with forecasts, at a time when investors are assessing the impact of artificial intelligence on the software industry.
Shares of the cybersecurity firm declined slightly in extended trading on Wednesday.
The Austin, Texas-based company reported quarterly earnings of $1.12 per share, beating analyst estimates of $1.10. Revenue reached $1.31 billion, slightly ahead of the $1.30 billion consensus forecast.
Company executives said that rising adoption of artificial intelligence across enterprises is generating increased demand for security solutions, positioning CrowdStrike to benefit as businesses look to safeguard AI-driven workloads and sensitive data.
OpenAI exploring possible NATO contract — reports
OpenAI is reportedly evaluating a potential contract with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, according to several media reports published on Tuesday. The development comes after the ChatGPT developer recently announced an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense.
The Wall Street Journal initially reported comments from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman indicating that the company was considering a deal to deploy its technology across NATO’s classified networks. However, the newspaper later clarified that an OpenAI spokesperson said Altman had misspoken and that the potential deployment would involve unclassified networks.
Reuters also reported that the artificial intelligence company is considering an agreement to implement its technology across NATO’s unclassified systems.
Last week, OpenAI announced a separate agreement that will deploy its AI technology on the Pentagon’s classified network. The deal followed a breakdown in cooperation between U.S. authorities and Anthropic, after Washington labeled the developer of the Claude AI model a “supply-chain risk.” Anthropic had refused to allow its AI systems to be used for domestic mass surveillance or to power fully autonomous lethal weapons.
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