Markets opened lower today as tensions in the Middle East weighed on sentiment, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.6% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures falling 0.5%, according to the Associated Press.
Stocks have also struggled recently as yields in the bond market have charged higher, cranking up the pressure as investors largely give up on hopes that the Federal Reserve will deliver as many cuts to interest rates this year as previously thought.
Oil prices jumped early this morning after Iran reportedly fired air defense batteries, and there were reports of explosions near the city of Isfahan. U.S. benchmark crude was trading 11 cents higher at $82.22 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 7 cents to $87.18 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell to 154.47 Japanese yen from 154.64 yen.
