Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, S&P 500 Futures Plunge As Oil Prices Jump, Trump Dismisses 'Short Term' Spike-Hims & Hers, Ovintiv, Uniqure In Focus

U.S. stock futures fell sharply on Monday following Friday’s negative close. Futures of the major benchmark indices were lower amid the ongoing Iran-US conflict.

The bloodbath follows a historic surge in energy costs. Brent Crude spiked 14.90% to hit $106.50, while WTI surged 13.27% to $102.96, with both benchmarks now aggressively testing their 52-week highs of $119.46 and $119.43, respectively.

Despite the market carnage, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to dismiss the economic anxiety, framing the record-high fuel costs as a necessary byproduct of his administration’s offensive against Tehran.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.19%, and the two-year bond was at 3.63%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool’s projections show markets pricing a 97.3% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in March.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were lower in premarket on Monday. The SPY was down 1.21% at $664.25, while the QQQ declined 1.38% to $591.49.

Stocks In Focus

Ovintiv

• Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) jumped 5.24% in premarket on Monday after Director Mayson Howard John sold 5,000 shares of common stock last week, according to a Form 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• OVV maintains a strong price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a solid value ranking, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings.

Hims & Hers Health

• Hims & Hers Health Inc. (NYSE:HIMS) surged 49.36% after it reportedly ended a public feud with Novo Nordisk AS (NYSE:NVO), as the former decided to sell its weight-loss drug on the telehealth platform.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that HIMS maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a moderate growth ranking.

Uniqure

• Uniqure NV (NASDAQ:QURE) gained 35.88%, fueled by a high-stakes short squeeze after a senior FDA official clarified that the regulatory path for its Huntington's disease therapy, AMT-130, is less invasive than previously feared.

• QURE maintains a weak price trend in the long, short, and medium terms, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings.

Starfighters Space

• Starfighters Space Inc. (NYSE:FJET) dropped 3.86% as Rothschild & Co Redburn highlighted that the Middle East conflict has introduced a major "obstacle for airline carriers, as it could drive jet fuel prices higher," CNBC reported.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that FJET maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms.

Casey’s General Stores

• Casey’s General Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) was down 0.94% as analysts expect it to report earnings of $2.98 per share on revenue of $4.04 billion, after the closing bell.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CASY maintains a strong price trend over the short, medium, and long terms with a solid quality score.

Cues From Last Session

Energy and consumer staples stocks bucked the overall market trend on Friday, closing higher even as consumer discretionary, materials, and information technology recorded the biggest losses.

Insights From Analysts

According to Mohamed El-Erian, the U.S. economy is currently navigating a “stagflationary wind” triggered by escalating conflict in the Middle East.

He observes that the transition from quick “mean reversion” to unpredictable “chain reactions” has heightened systemic fragility, particularly within energy supply chains. El-Erian highlights a shifting market dynamic where inflation concerns are overshadowing traditional “safe haven” buying.

He notes that despite attempts by investors to “buy the dip,” stocks have struggled as the “realization of systemic fragility” sets in. This is further complicated by recent labor data, which he describes as a “significant miss,” with the U.S. economy losing 92,000 jobs in February and unemployment rising to 4.4%.

Regarding the outlook, El-Erian remains focused on the “economic and market fallout of the Middle East conflict,” warning that the energy shock could severely dampen growth while pushing inflation higher.

He emphasizes that the global landscape is now defined by “volatility, fragmentation, and dispersion,” suggesting that the path forward for both the Federal Reserve and equity markets will be increasingly “unpredictable” and dictated by “multiple equilibria.”

Upcoming Economic Data

Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on this week.

• No data is scheduled to be released on Monday.
• On Tuesday, the NFIB optimism index for February will be released by 6:00 a.m., and February’s existing home sales data will be out by 10:00 a.m. ET.
• On Wednesday, February’s consumer price index and core CPI data, along with year-over-year CPI and core CPI figures, will be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
• The monthly U.S. federal budget for February will be out by 2:00 p.m. ET.
• On Thursday, initial jobless claims for the week ending March 7, January’s U.S. trade deficit data, and February’s housing starts and building permits data will all be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
• On Friday, the first revision of the fourth quarter GDP number, January’s personal income and personal spending data, and January’s delayed headline and core PCE reports (including year-over-year figures) will be out by 8:30 a.m. ET.
• January’s durable-goods orders and durable-goods minus transportation data will also be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
• January’s job openings data and March’s preliminary consumer sentiment report will both be out by 10:00 a.m. ET.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 13.27% to hover around $102.96 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar fell 1.55% to hover around $5,091.08 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.58% higher at the 99.5620 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 0.50% higher at $67,766.10 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.

Asian markets closed lower on Monday, as Australia's ASX 200, India’s Nifty 50 indices, China’s CSI 300, Japan's Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and South Korea's Kospi indices fell. European markets were also lower in early trade.

Photo courtesy: M. Knijnenburg on Shutterstock.com