U.S. stock futures pointed to a cautious start on Monday, as fresh geopolitical worries resurfaced after President Donald Trump tweeted a strong warning to Iran.
Meanwhile, technology stocks were looking particularly weak, given Tesla Motor Co.’s premarket losses after a report the electric-car maker asked suppliers for refunds. That’s as investors waited for another round of earnings to come this week, with Google-parent Alphabet due to report later.
What are the main benchmarks doing?Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMU8, -0.06% eased 16 points to 25,014, while S&P 500 futures ESU8, -0.07% slipped 2.3 points to 2,798.50. Nasdaq-100 futures NQU8, -0.41% fell 23.75 points, or 0.3%, to 7,336.50.
Stocks finished roughly flat last week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.03% gaining 0.2% on Friday, the S&P 500 Index SPX, -0.09% adding less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.07% declining less than 0.1%.
What’s driving markets?Investors could be facing a fresh worry on the geopolitical front after Trump lashed out at Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in an all-caps tweet on Sunday evening, warning him not to threaten the U.S. That came hours after Rouhani cautioned Trump against pursuing a hostile policy towards his country.
To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018
