Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on March 30, 2026 in New York City.
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U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday and oil prices rose after President Donald Trump said he expected the war with Iran to continue.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average It fell by 541 points (1.2%). S&P500 futures decreased by 1.4%, Nasdaq 100 futures It decreased by 1.7%.
President Trump spoke Wednesday night and provided an update on the Middle East conflict. President Trump said the United States is “very close” to ending the Iran war, but added that the United States would “hit very hard” on Iran.
“We’re going to spend the next two to three weeks returning them to their original Stone Age status,” the president said.
His comments also led to a rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil Futures It was last up 7.9% to $107.98 per barrel. brent crude oil futures It rose 7.3% to $108.59.
“The longer oil prices stay high, the more consumers will spend and the economy will slow further,” Kevin Mahn, chief investment officer at Hennion & Walsh, said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” He added that he doesn’t expect the Fed to move on interest rates in the near future, so “we’ll have to wait for the dispute to be resolved before we actually start to see some respite on oil prices and inflation.”
Investors are emerging from a winning market after President Trump said in a post that Iran’s president had called for a ceasefire with the United States. However, President Trump said the US would only “consider” the proposal if the Strait of Hormuz was “open, free and passable.”
The announcement came after the president told reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon that he expected U.S. troops to withdraw from Iran within “two to three weeks.”
Thursday will be the last trading day of the shortened week as markets are closed for Good Friday. On Thursday morning, traders will focus on the number of new jobless claims for the week ending March 28, while March employment data is expected to be released Friday morning.
—CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed reporting.
