Wall Street poised to open with gains, oil jumps again after the US and Iran trade strikes

Wall Street futures opened higher Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.5%, the S&P 500 rising 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures adding 0.2%. Oil prices surged around 3% after the U.S. bombed Iranian military sites in retaliation for Tehran’s downing of an American drone, raising tensions despite ongoing negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil transit route. Brent crude oil climbed $2.52 to $93.64 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark crude rose $2.93 to $90.29, up from approximately $70 in late February. Analysts noted that markets still anticipate the Strait of Hormuz’s reopening, despite escalating strikes. IBM shares jumped 10% in premarket trading after analysts revised upward their stock price targets, following a 12% Friday close that brought the company’s May gains to nearly 30%. The surge came after IBM announced a $1 billion government grant to build a quantum chip foundry. FedEx Freight, a new spinoff, also rose over 2% on its first trading day, while Nvidia gained 2% after unveiling AI-focused chips for laptops and desktops, including partnerships with Microsoft and Dell. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2%, France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.2%, and Germany’s DAX rose 0.5%. Asian markets performed strongly, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 hitting an all-time high of 67,231.28, up 0.9%, and South Korea’s Kospi surging 3.7% to a record 8,788.38. SoftBank Group’s shares soared 14%, making it Japan’s most valuable listed company, surpassing Toyota, while Samsung Electronics climbed 10.1%. South Korea’s exports surged 53% year-over-year in May, driven by semiconductor demand. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.9%, but China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 0.3% after reports of softened factory activity and slowing export demand. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined slightly, while Taiwan’s Taiex climbed 1.4% and India’s Sensex fell 0.7%. Three months into the Iran conflict, market volatility persists due to unresolved tensions, though AI-driven tech stocks continue to buoy investor confidence globally.