Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images
U.S. stock futures fell Thursday morning as oil prices surged on a report that Iran's supreme leader had directed the country's enriched uranium not to be sent abroad, complicating ongoing U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations and pushing crude back above $100 a barrel.
Crude benchmarks moved sharply higher, with WTI adding 2.9% to reach $101.04 per barrel and Brent settling at $107.36, a gain of 2.3%. The move higher in oil came after Reuters, citing unnamed sources, reported the directive from Iran's supreme leader. The removal of Iran's enriched uranium is a core U.S. condition for ending the war, according to MarketWatch.
Among equity index futures, the S&P 500 contract was off 0.4% and the Nasdaq $NDAQ 100 contract shed 0.6%, while Dow futures pointed to a 167-point, or 0.3%, opening loss. The 10-year Treasury yield added five basis points, rising to 4.615%.
Wednesday's session had told a different story: equities climbed and ended a three-session skid for the S&P 500 after Trump publicly described U.S.-Iran talks as entering their final phase, according to CNBC.
