Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, S&P 500 Futures Decline As Iran Escalates Attacks On US Bases Ahead Of February CPI-Oracle, Domo, Kosmos In Focus

U.S. stock futures declined on Wednesday following Tuesday’s mixed close. Futures of the major benchmark indices were lower amid the ongoing Iran-U.S. war.

Investors are eyeing February CPI data, with consensus expecting both headline and core to be roughly 2.5% year-over-year.

Iran struck U.S. bases across five Middle Eastern nations, while a projectile hit ignited a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing its evacuation. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump warned Iran not to place naval mines at Hormuz, threatening severe military retaliation if such activity were confirmed.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has proposed its largest-ever emergency release of oil reserves to curb soaring crude prices, exceeding the 182 million barrels released by member countries after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.16%, and the two-year bond was at 3.59%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 99.4% 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 Wednesday. The SPY was down 0.11% at $676.45, while the QQQ declined 0.10% to $607.15.

Stocks In Focus

Oracle

• Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) jumped 10.71% in premarket on Wednesday following upbeat financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2026 on Tuesday after the market closed.

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

Domo

• Domo Inc. (NASDAQ:DOMO) soared 52.05% following the company's fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings release. It reported earnings of 3 cents per share, well above the expected loss of 17 cents per share. This represents a beat of 117.65% over the estimate.

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

Decent Holding

• Decent Holding Inc. (NASDAQ:DXST) rose 6.37% as its subsidiary Suncare signed an agreement with a regional senior care operator to expand its AI-enabled community healthcare network in China.

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

Kosmos Energy

• Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) plunged 15.35% after pricing a public offering of 97.5 million common shares at $1.90 per share on Tuesday, generating gross proceeds of $185.25 million.

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

AeroVironment

• AeroVironment Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) dropped 9.28% after lowering its full-year guidance following a third-quarter miss.

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

Cues From Last Session

Only communication services and information technology sectors rose slightly on Tuesday, whereas other S&P 500 sectors declined amid a mixed close.

Insights From Analysts

Professor Jeremy Siegel's outlook for the U.S. economy and stock market is a study in contrasting signals. While he acknowledges that a market correction of greater than 10% is now “much more likely” due to escalating geopolitical tensions with Iran, he maintains that the underlying economic fundamentals remain “very strong.”

The most striking development is the divergence between stagnant payroll growth and rising GDP. Siegel interprets this not as a sign of recession, but as a “sharp rise in productivity” likely driven by artificial intelligence and automation.

He notes, “If firms are producing the same—or more—output with fewer workers, that is the classic definition of a productivity surge.”

For equity investors, this efficiency is a “very favorable development” as it supports corporate margins and earnings growth.

Although rising oil prices present a supply shock risk, Siegel believes the economy is resilient enough to avoid a bear market. He concludes that if geopolitical pressures ease even slightly, “the market could be poised for a powerful rebound.”

Upcoming Economic Data

Here's what investors will be keeping an eye 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.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 2.06% to hover around $85.17 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar fell 0.24% to hover around $5,180.73 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.08% higher at the 98.9050 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 1.83% lower at $69,683.66 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.

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

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

This article Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, S&P 500 Futures Decline As Iran Escalates Attacks On US Bases Ahead Of February CPI—Oracle, Domo, Kosmos In Focus originally appeared on Benzinga.com