Rising oil prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East weighed heavily on stock markets on Tuesday as Brent Crude neared $100 a barrel.
- The U.S. Central Command noted in a post on X that American forces have destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers on Tuesday after the IRGC targeted an American Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days.
- On the economic front, markets will be watching for cues from the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting scheduled for next week.
- The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is scheduled for Sept. 15–16, after which the central bank will announce its interest rate decision.
U.S. stock futures traded mixed in the overnight session late Tuesday, with the Dow trending lower and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbing higher even as Brent crude prices edged closer to $100 a barrel.
Dow futures fell 0.11%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.05% and the Nasdaq-100 gained 0.18% at 10:18 PM EDT.
On Tuesday, all three benchmark indexes ended the session lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 ended the session 1.18% and 0.58% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.32% at close.
| Index | Move | Close |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | -1.18% | 53,414.25 |
| S&P 500 | -0.58% | 7,673.52 |
| Nasdaq Composite | -0.32% | 26,421.41 |
Key US Market Drivers
Rising oil prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East weighed heavily on stock markets on Tuesday.
At the time of writing, Brent crude futures expiring in November were up about 1.49% to trade at $99.38 a barrel, while WTI crude futures expiring in October were trading at $94.46 per barrel, up 1.54%.
The U.S. Central Command noted in a post on X that American forces have destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers on Tuesday after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days. It added that no American personnel were harmed in the strikes.
Brett Erickson, Managing Principal, Obsidian Risk Advisors, said in a post on X that oil spiking to $100 was around the corner. “Oil has now hit $99 per barrel again this morning. $100 is on the way, but that will just be the beginning,” he said.
Meanwhile, a tariff war between the U.S. and Canada is also impacting markets. Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs ranging from 15% to 50% on a variety of U.S. imports starting Tuesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Canada has been “ripping off” America for years, adding that “From now on, NO RECIPROCITY – NO ACCESS! I am hereby directing the GSA, working with the USTR, to take all necessary steps to REMOVE Canadian-origin products from GSA’s Multiple Award Schedules unless Canada restores full and fair reciprocity for American Farmers and Companies. Those schedules account for more than 50 BILLION DOLLARS a year.”
On the economic front, markets will be watching for cues from the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting scheduled for next week. Traders are pricing in a 60.4% chance of a rate hike by a quarter-percentage point, according to data from the CME FedWatch tool.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is scheduled for Sept. 15–16, after which the central bank will announce its interest rate decision.
Yardeni Research said in a post on Tuesday that the strong August payroll employment data, which jumped by 162,000, marked a sharp reversal from July’s decline, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%. “Those numbers reinforce our view that the labor market remains solid, so the Fed has little reason to delay a rate hike,” it said.
Trending Stocks To Watch
Rocket Lab USA Inc. (RKLB): Shares of the rocket company closed over 2% higher and continued to climb in the overnight session late Tuesday after it announced the production release of Inverted Metamorphic (IMM) Apex, the new version of its next-generation solar cell for space applications.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD): The chipmaker’s shares closed up about 6% on Tuesday and continued to climb higher overnight after CFO Jean Hu outlined an accelerated expansion strategy at the Citi Global TMT Conference.
Oracle Corp. (ORCL): The company garnered retail attention ahead of its first-quarter (Q1) 2026 earnings results expected after market hours on Wednesday. ORCL stock was up more than 1% in overnight trading.
NuScale Power Corp. (SMR): The nuclear power company’s shares surged over 15% at close on Tuesday and edged higher overnight amid a broader rotation into the sector as demand for AI power grows.
Other Market Trends
Among ETFs tracking benchmark indexes, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) were edging higher at the time of writing, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) was trending lower.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield was trading at 4.80% at the time of writing, while the U.S. 30-year Treasury yield was trading at 5.25%. Spot gold prices climbed to $4,371.49 an ounce.
The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) was down 0.02% amid ‘bearish’ sentiment.
Asian markets were trading mixed at the open on Wednesday. South Korea’s KOSPI, China’s SSE Composite, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 were edging higher at the time of writing, while Australian stocks were trading in the red.
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