A television station broadcasts Kevin Warsh, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, speaking after a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Stock futures inched down on Tuesday night as oil prices rose after U.S. forces intercepted an attack from Iran.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures shed 52 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures were marginally lower, and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.4%.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced about 4% to trade at around $82 a barrel after U.S. Central Command said in a social media post that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched “multiple ballistic missiles in an attempted surprise attack on U.S. forces based in the Middle East.” The missiles were successfully intercepted, Centcom said.
Ford Motor shares jumped 4% in extended trading after the automaker beat earnings expectations and lifted its 2026 forecast. But Visa shares slipped roughly 1% after the payments giant posted underwhelming guidance.
Investors are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve‘s interest rate decision and subsequent press conference with Chairman Kevin Warsh on Wednesday afternoon. Fed funds futures traders are pricing in a nearly 70% likelihood that the central bank holds rates steady at the current targe range of 3.5% to 3.75%, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Traders sent the Dow surging more than 500 points on Tuesday as they geared up for the decision. It marked the blue-chip average’s third straight winning day, with the recent decline in oil prices providing upward momentum.
But the Nasdaq Composite ended in the red for the fifth consecutive session, dragged down by struggling chip stocks. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) dropped 3.5% in its fourth straight negative session on Tuesday. This decline brought the fund’s one-week loss to more than 9%.
“We continue to believe markets are placing too much weight on inflation risk and too little weight on the economic consequences of further tightening,” said Julia Hermann, global market strategist at New York Life Investment Management. “A more hawkish communication stance would likely test today’s narrow market leadership more than the broader market.”
Prior to the Fed decision, investors will monitor earnings from Procter & Gamble and Humana coming before the bell. Results from megacap tech bellwethers Microsoft and Meta Platforms, as well as chipmaker Qualcomm, will be out in the afternoon.
Bank of America downgrades Exxon ahead of earnings
Bank of America has downgraded Exxon to neutral on concerns that oil prices will fall further if a ceasefire is reached between the U.S. and Iran.
The oil major’s upside, meanwhile, is limited because 20% of its global production is boxed in the Middle East due to the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, BofA analysts told clients in a note.
Exxon reports second-quarter earnings on Friday.
— Spencer Kimball
West Texas Intermediate crude futures rise after U.S. intercepts attack from Iran
U.S. oil futures climbed late Tuesday after Central Command said that American forces successfully blocked missile attacks from Iran.
“Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on U.S. forces based in the Middle East,” Centcom said in a social media post. “All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted.”
WTI crude oil futures in the past day
Nasdaq 100 records longest losing streak since January
The Nasdaq 100 fell around 1% on Tuesady, marking its fifth straight down day. That’s the longest daily losing streak going back to early January.
The Nasdaq 100, 5-day
— Alex Harring
