Gotrade News - Oil prices and Treasury yields climbed Thursday after fresh U.S.-Iran military strikes near Bandar Abbas. U.S. equity futures slipped before the open as traders also awaited April core PCE inflation data.
According to Barchart, WTI crude rose about 3% on the escalation. The 10-year Treasury yield ticked up one basis point to 4.50%.
Key Takeaways
- WTI crude climbed roughly 3% and Brent rose 2.97% on fresh U.S.-Iran strikes near Bandar Abbas.
- June S&P 500 E-Mini futures fell 0.26% and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.54% before the open.
- Defense and drone names rallied as Axios reported Patriot interceptor stockpiles draining faster than production.
Strikes In The Gulf Lift Crude And Yields
American forces shot down Iranian drones and struck a facility near Bandar Abbas, per Barchart. Tehran launched drones at U.S. and commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran also claimed it targeted a U.S. airbase in the latest exchange. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard separately claimed a strike on a Kuwait-based U.S. facility, as reported by Investing.com.
WTI crude rose 3.25% and Brent gained 2.97% on the strikes, according to Investing.com. Energy names including Chevron (CVX) moved in step with the underlying crude move.
The U.S. 10-year yield rose 0.60% and the 5-year added 0.77%, per the same report. The 30-year yield gained 0.36% as traders priced in higher near-term inflation risk from energy.
Futures Slip As Defense Stocks Rally
S&P 500 futures fell 14 points and Dow futures dropped 60 points before the bell, according to Investing.com. Nasdaq 100 futures slid 127 points, or 0.4%, in pre-market trade.
All three major indices closed at record highs the prior session. The S&P 500 is on pace for a ninth consecutive weekly gain, its longest streak since 2023.
Drone-related names Unusual Machines and AeroVironment rallied on a Wall Street Journal report about administration funding discussions. Prime contractors Lockheed Martin (LMT) and RTX (RTX) traded firmer as defense interest broadened.
As reported by Axios, more than 1,000 Patriot interceptors were used in the Iran war versus only 172 delivered in fiscal 2026. Replenishment is not expected until 2029 if the conflict does not resume.
Lockheed is scaling Patriot PAC-3 MSE production from 600 to 2,000 units yearly. RTX is expanding Standard Missile-6 output beyond 500 units annually, per the same Axios report.
Boeing is tripling PAC-3 seeker production to address the gap. A $30 billion backlog of U.S. arms shipments to Taiwan, including Patriot interceptors, remains outstanding.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Washington for more interceptors, per Axios. He told Trump it is painful to see Patriot batteries with no missiles loaded.
Traders also turned to April core PCE inflation, expected at +0.3% month-on-month and +3.3% year-on-year, per Barchart. Q1 GDP is seen at a 2.0% annual rate alongside earnings from Costco, Dell, Autodesk, and MongoDB.
Fed Governor Lisa Cook said she is closely watching the risk of embedded inflation, after five years of above-target prints. Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson expects inflation to decline this year as tariff and energy shocks fade.
