MW Oil futures rise after U.S., Iran trade fire; stock futures quiet after court rejects Trump's tariffs
By Mike Murphy
President Donald Trump speaks Wednesday at the White House. A federal court rejected Trump's latest tariff plan Thursday.
Oil futures moved higher late Thursday while stock-index futures were little changed after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire in the Persian Gulf, and after a federal court struck down President Donald Trump's backup tariff plan.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures (CL.1) rose about 2% on Thursday night after reports that U.S. forces launched retaliatory airstrikes against several Iranian targets after some U.S. Navy ships came under attack. Futures for Brent crude (BRN00), the global benchmark, also rose.
U.S. stock-index futures appeared to be in wait-and-see mode. After initially falling, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM00) were recently up about 50 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures (ES00) and Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ00) also erased early losses and were posting slight gains. Earlier Thursday, stocks pulled back from record highs, with the Dow DJIA off about 0.6% while the S&P 500 SPX dipped 0.4% and the Nasdaq COMP slipped 0.1%.
In a social-media post, the U.S. Central Command said "U.S. forces intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes as U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman" on Thursday. It said no U.S. ships were hit.
U.S. forces reportedly struck at least three Iranian ports. Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffith reported that U.S. officials said "this is NOT a restarting of the war."
"As long as the Strait of Hormuz remains unstable, markets are likely to remain highly headline sensitive, with volatility capable of returning very quickly across all major asset classes," Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said in a note Thursday night. "In practical terms, the Strait of Hormuz now functions less as a normal shipping route and more as a geopolitical pressure valve at the center of the global macro system."
The renewed attacks came as U.S. and Iranian officials were meeting with mediators to craft a framework toward ending the conflict, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Trump again threatened Iran, saying in a social-media post: "Just like we knocked them out again today, we'll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don't get their Deal signed, FAST!"
Trump later told ABC News that the cease-fire was still in effect, calling Thursday's strikes "a love tap."
Separately, the federal Court of International Trade ruled that Trump lacked the authority to slap 10% tariffs against imports from most countries by invoking Section 122 of the Trade Act in February. The court said Trump's order did not satisfy the law's criteria. Trump tried that tack after the Supreme Court earlier this year struck down his sweeping global tariffs.
It's unclear what effect Thursday's ruling will have. The 10% tariffs are set to expire in July, and the ruling is limited to only small businesses and the states that had sued, including Oregon, California, New York and Illinois.
The Trump administration is expected to appeal the ruling. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
-Mike Murphy
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 07, 2026 22:57 ET (02:57 GMT)
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