Three Major US Stock Futures All Under Pressure Pre-Market, Oil and Gas Stocks Lead Gains, Gold Shows “Safe-Haven Asset Not Safe Haven”

Market Volatility

TradingKey - In US pre-market trading, all three major index futures were under pressure. As of press time (5:00 PM Beijing time), Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.48% to 47,895 points; Nasdaq 100 Index futures dropped 0.65% to 25,117 points; and S&P 500 Index futures declined 0.57% to 6,816.15 points.

In terms of sectors, oil and gas stocks led the gains, with Battalion Oil( BATL) surging over 30%, Occidental Petroleum( OXY) up more than 3%, ConocoPhillips( COP) up over 2.84%, ExxonMobil( XOM) rising 2.54%.

Precious metal stocks suffered broad losses, with Newmont( NEM) falling more than 2%, Harmony Gold( HMY) dropping 1.69%, Barrick Mining( B) down 1.33%.

Star tech stocks also trended lower, with Micron( MU) falling more than 2.28%, AMD( AMD) down 1.47%, Amazon( AMZN) declining 1.36%, Broadcom( AVGO) falling 1.39%, NVIDIA( NVDA) down 1.35%.

Market News

According to media reports, following unsuccessful negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, U.S. President Trump stated yesterday that he does not care whether Iran returns to the negotiating table, announcing that the U.S. will impose a blockade on Iran at 10:00 a.m. ET on the 13th (22:00 Beijing time). The reports added that the door to peace talks remains open, and a second round of U.S.-Iran meetings may occur within days.

Affected by this, WTI and Brent crude futures showed strength in early trading, with both returning to the $100 mark. As of press time, both benchmarks have surged over 7%, with WTI trading at $104.1 and Brent at $102.47.

Escalating tensions in the Middle East have driven a recovery in oil prices. However, it is noteworthy that the market appears to be exhibiting a different trend—namely, that "safe-haven assets are not providing a hedge." The long-held consensus of "buying gold in times of turmoil" has seemingly failed to materialize. Spot gold plunged during early trading today, dropping more than 2% at one point to a low of $4,644.19 per ounce. It has since gradually recovered but remains down over 0.33% as of press time.

Some market analysts suggest that the increasingly fragile ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran is shifting the bond market's focus back to inflation and reinforcing expectations that interest rates will remain higher for longer. This concern is also currently weighing on gold. Among the major safe-haven assets, the U.S. dollar is clearly the only one benefiting from this situation.

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) is currently trading at 98.95, up 0.26%.