U.S. Stocks May Move Back To The Downside In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - After recovering from an early sell-off to end the previous session mostly higher, stocks may move back to the downside in early trading on Tuesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.4 percent.

Lingering concerns about the conflict in the Middle East may weigh on Wall Street as the price of crude oil regains ground after plummeting overnight.

Crude oil for April delivery plunged by nearly 11 percent to a low of $84.43 a barrel but has since bounced back above $90 a barrel.

The volatility in the oil markets comes amid uncertainty about the U.S. war with Iran after President Donald Trump's latest remarks about the conflict.

Trump said in a press conference on Monday that the war against Iran could end "very soon" but provided few details about his end game.

The president claimed in a subsequent post on Truth Social that Iran would be hit "twenty times harder" if they do anything that stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz.

"We will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!" Trump said.

Echoing Trump's confidence, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asserted in a press conference this morning that Iran is "badly losing" but said the U.S. will still be launching its "most intense day of strikes" in Iran today.

Stocks moved sharply lower in early trading on Monday but showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the session. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels and into positive territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the recovery.

The major averages surged in the final hour of trading, closing not far off their highs. The Nasdaq jumped 308.27 points or 1.4 percent to 22,695.95, the S&P 500 advanced 55.96 points or 0.8 percent to 6,795.99 and the Dow climbed 239.25 points or 0.5 percent to 47,740.80.

Early in the session, the Dow tumbled by as much as 1.9 percent and the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both slumped by as much as 1.5 percent, hitting their worst intraday levels in over three months.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved sharply higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged by 2.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shot up by 2.2 percent.

The major European markets have also moved back to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 1.8 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 1.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are plunging $4.47 to $90.30 a barrel after surging $3.87 to $94.77 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after slumping $55 to $5,103.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $84.80 to $5,188.50 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 157.92 yen compared to the 157.64 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1628 compared to yesterday's $1.1636.