United States stock futures moved slightly higher on Thursday night (Friday AEDT), as comments from Benjamin Netanyahu helped ease some investor concerns surrounding the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict.
By 10 am AEDT (11 pm GMT), futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were each up around 0.2%.
The modest gains followed a negative session on Wall Street, where major indices closed lower but well above intraday lows.
Sentiment improved after Netanyahu said Israel was assisting the United States “in intel and other means” to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
He also stated that Iran had lost its ability to enrich uranium and produce ballistic missiles, adding that the conflict could conclude sooner than many investors expect.
Oil markets reacted sharply to the remarks, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures falling 2%, providing some support to equities.
Despite the pullback, WTI prices remain more than 48% higher for the month, reflecting ongoing supply concerns.
Even with the late-session recovery, U.S. equities remain on track for a fourth consecutive weekly decline. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average are down 0.4% and 1.2% for the week, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite has slipped 0.1%.
Both the Dow and Nasdaq are also approaching correction territory. The Dow is currently 8.3% below its record closing high set on February 10, while the Nasdaq sits nearly 8% below its all-time closing peak reached on October 29.
The S&P 500 has shown relative resilience, holding approximately 5% below its record high
