Stock Futures Plunge Sharply as Oil Prices Surge

Stock futures have moved sharply lower ahead of the open as a dramatic surge in oil prices tied to the escalating conflict involving Iran ripples through financial markets. Crude prices jumped above $100 per barrel and briefly approached roughly $120, the highest levels since 2022, after attacks on energy infrastructure and disruptions to shipping routes heightened fears of a global supply shock. The possibility that tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz could remain disrupted has forced traders to rapidly price in a geopolitical risk premium across energy markets.Equity markets reacted negatively to the sudden energy shock and indices fell across Asia and Europe as investors weighed the inflationary implications of higher fuel costs and the risk that the conflict could drag on. Some markets experienced particularly severe declines, with Asian stocks sliding sharply and South Korea's Kospi briefly halting trading after a steep drop, highlighting the speed of the risk-off move.Energy prices feed directly into transportation, manufacturing, and consumer costs, meaning a sustained spike in crude could push inflation expectations higher again and complicate central bank policy. At the same time, economic data released late last week signaled some cooling in the labor market, raising fears of a stagflationary environment where growth slows while price pressures rise.In pre-market trading, S&P 500 futures fell 1.13%, Nasdaq futures fell 1.22% and Dow futures fell 1.26%.Check out this morning's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.HIGHER -Hims & Hersup 50% after entering into an agreement with Novo Nordiskthat will bring Ozempic injections and Wegovy pills and injections to the platform later this monthXenon Pharmaceuticalsup 48% after announcing its X-TOLE2 study of azetukalner in focal onset seizures met its primary endpointDianthusup 24% after reporting an early GO decision based on an interim responder analysis in the Phase 3 CAPTIVATE trial of claseprubart in Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy, CIDPLive Nationup 5% after Bloombergthe company is close to settling a federal antitrust lawsuit in a deal that would avoid the sale of its Ticketmaster unitApplied Optoelectronicsup 3% after announcing it received its first volume order for its 1.6T data center transceivers from one of its long-term major hyperscale customers to boost its network bandwidth for AI workloadUP AFTER EARNINGS -Heritage Insuranceup 6%DOWN AFTER EARNINGS -Beta Technologiesdown 3%LOWER -Jefferies Financialdown 3% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Equal Weight with a price target of $49, down from $78Lamb Westondown 1% after Starboard Value built a stake in the company and has been pushing to company to accelerate improvements and cost cuttingStarbucksdown 1% after Wolfe Research downgraded shares to Peer Perform after assuming coverage of the name