(Editor’s note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs, the economic data, and the headline were updated in the story.)
U.S. stock futures declined on Wednesday following Tuesday’s mixed close. Futures of the major benchmark indices were lower amid the ongoing Iran-U.S. war.
The February Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis, a slight acceleration from January’s 0.2% increase.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, edged up 0.2% for the month. On a year-over-year basis, both the headline inflation rate and the core index remained steady, posting annual gains of 2.4% and 2.5%, respectively.
Iran struck U.S. bases across five Middle Eastern nations, while a projectile hit ignited a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing its evacuation. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump warned Iran not to place naval mines at Hormuz, threatening severe military retaliation if such activity were confirmed.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has proposed its largest-ever emergency release of oil reserves to curb soaring crude prices, exceeding the 182 million barrels released by member countries after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.16%, and the two-year bond was at 3.59%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 99.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in March.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -0.18% |
| S&P 500 | -0.08% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.07% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.45% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were lower in premarket on Wednesday. The SPY was down 0.12% at $676.34, while the QQQ declined 0.094% to $607.20.