Stock Market News Today, 3/12/26 – U.S. Stock Futures Fall as Rising Oil Prices Weigh on Investor Sentiment

U.S. stock futures fell early Thursday as rising oil prices amid the escalating Iran conflict impacted investor sentiment. Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s announcement that the U.S. will release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) decision to release 400 million barrels from emergency reserves failed to bring down oil prices as Iran continues to disrupt supply. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were down 0.49%, 0.50%, and 0.59%, respectively, at 5:15 a.m. EST on March 12.

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At the time of writing, the price of the global oil benchmark Brent (CM:BZ) was up about 7% to $98.08 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CM:CL) rose more than 6% to trade at $92.50 per barrel. Iran continues to strike foreign ships in the Persian Gulf and has warned that oil prices could climb to $200 a barrel.

During Wednesday’s regular trading, the three major indexes closed mixed as traders digested developments in the U.S.-Iran war. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones fell 0.08% and 0.61%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.08%.

On the earnings front, notable companies reporting today include Adobe ADBE -0.52% ▼ , Dollar General DG -0.79% ▼ , and Ulta Beauty ULTA +0.84% ▲ . Coming to Thursday’s economic releases, traders await updates on housing starts and jobless claims to gain further insights into the state of the U.S. economy.

Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield was up, floating near 4.23%. Additionally, the Gold Spot U.S. dollar price was around $5,176 per ounce, as of the last check.

Elsewhere, European indexes trended lower as investors assessed the updates on the U.S.-Iran conflict and its impact on oil prices.

Asia-Pacific Markets Ended Lower on Thursday

Asia-Pacific markets closed lower on March 12 as investors digested oil price volatility and escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.70%. In China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.10%, while the Shenzhen Component dropped 0.63%. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei closed lower by 1.04%, with the Topix fell 1.32%.

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