Oil Prices Rise, US Stock Futures Fall as Hamas Attacks Isreal

On Sunday, U.S. stock-index futures experienced a decline, and oil prices saw an increase following a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, leading to heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM00) fell by approximately 0.7%, or 200 points, at the opening, while S&P 500 futures (ES00) and Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ00) also exhibited declines. Safe-haven assets such as gold (GC00) and the U.S. dollar (DXY) gained value in response.

Concurrently, late on Sunday, oil futures (CL00) surged. Analysts suggested that crude oil prices might rise in the short term due to potential repercussions on Iranian oil exports

S&P 500 Futures

Hamas conducted a significant attack on Israel on Saturday, resulting in casualties numbering in the hundreds.  Reports indicated that Iran may have been involved in planning the attack, potentially expanding the scope of the conflict. In response, Israel initiated airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, and on Sunday, the Israeli government declared war, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledging retribution and predicting a protracted and challenging conflict.

In terms of market performance on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose by 0.9%, closing at 33,407.58, the S&P 500 (SPX) increased by 1.2%, closing at 4,308.50, and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) climbed by 1.6%, ending at 13,431.3

For the week, the Dow experienced a 0.3% decline, while the S&P 500 recorded a 0.5% gain, and the Nasdaq saw a 1.6% rise. This marked the third consecutive week of decline for the Dow, the end of a four-week losing streak for the S&P 500, and the second consecutive weekly gain for the Nasdaq, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Investors are eagerly awaiting the release of September inflation data later this week, as well as the commencement of the third-quarter earnings season, which will include reports from companies like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Delta Air Lines (DAL).