Wire · Gulf Edu
Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on April 17, 2026. NYSE Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell on Monday to kick off a shortened week of trading, with Wall Street keeping tabs on the Middle East war and rising trade tensions between Canada and the U.S. Futures tied to the 30-stock index shed 308 points, or 0.6%. S&P 500 futures slipped 0.2%, while Nasdaq-100 futures bucked the trend, rising 0.1%. U.S. markets were closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
Oil prices rose to six-week highs on Monday night after Iran and the U.S. exchanged strikes over the weekend. Brent crude traded 1.1% higher at $97.31 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures climbed 1.3% to $92.66. Crude prices surged in the past month due to the U.S.-Iran war, increasing upward pressure on Treasury yields as traders worry about elevated energy prices driving inflation higher. The 10-year Treasury note yield reached its highest level since November 2023, while the 2-year note yield hit a January 2025 high.
Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, noted that central bank meetings over the coming weeks will test whether equity markets remain composed. Bond yields are rising worldwide, with the question being whether this reflects better-than-expected economic growth, higher-than-expected inflation, or looming fiscal debt crises. The Federal Reserve is set to hold a monetary policy meeting next week. Traders are pricing in a 60% chance of a quarter-percentage-point rate hike, though this could shift based on upcoming inflation data (Thursday and Friday) and further oil price spikes due to Middle East tensions.
Retaliatory tariffs from Canada on about $20 billion of U.S. goods take effect on Tuesday. President Donald Trump stated that Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier cannot sell in the U.S. unless it begins manufacturing there. This move follows escalating trade war tensions between the U.S. and Canada.
Overseas investors are now favoring U.S. stocks over Treasurys, marking a historic shift in foreign appetite for American sovereign debt. Strategists attribute this to equity inflows into the U.S. overtaking fixed income for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis (GFC).
Source: CNBC
