United States stock futures edged lower on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEST) after the United States carried out “self-defense strikes” against Iran in response to the downing of a military helicopter a day earlier.
By 10 am AEST (12 am GMT), Dow futures, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were each down 0.3%.
The latest escalation in Middle East tensions came after U.S. forces launched strikes against Iran “in response to yesterday’s downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter,” according to U.S. Central Command.
President Donald Trump earlier said Iran had shot down the helicopter while it was patrolling near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has not directly claimed responsibility for the incident. However, the latest developments further threaten an already fragile ceasefire framework between Washington and Tehran and raise concerns over the trajectory of diplomatic efforts in the region.
During regular trading on Tuesday, technology stocks led declines, with chipmakers under pressure.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1%.
The pullback extended losses from the previous week, when markets retreated after a strong rally driven by enthusiasm around artificial intelligence-related stocks.
Investors are now focused on upcoming U.S. inflation data, with the May consumer price index (CPI) due at 8:30 am ET (10:30 pm AEST) on Wednesday.
Markets are expecting the index to show inflation running at an annual rate of 4.2%, with a monthly increase of 0.5%.
A reading above 4% would mark the first such level since May 2023 and the highest since April of that year.
Among corporate earnings, Chewy is set to report results before the opening bell on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).
