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Stocks Mostly Up Pre-Bell as Traders Assess Renewed Middle East Tensions, Await Key Inflation Data

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Stocks Mostly Up Pre-Bell as Traders Assess Renewed Middle East Tensions, Await Key Inflation Data

The benchmark US stock measures were mostly pointing higher before the opening bell Monday as investors weigh tensions after Iran and Israel exchanged strikes and await key inflation data later this week.

The S&P 500 increased 0.4% and the Nasdaq added 0.8% in premarket activity, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down less than 0.1%. The indexes finished Friday's trading session in the red, with the Nasdaq reportedly recording its biggest one-day decline since April 2025.

Iran launched a fresh wave of airstrikes against Israel on Monday, Bloomberg News reported. Israel responded with strikes on military targets in western and central Iran, while Iranian state media reported multiple explosions in Tehran, according to Bloomberg.

Tensions between the two countries escalated after Iran launched missiles toward Israel over the weekend in retaliation for Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon.

President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to retaliate against Iran's attack and allow time for more diplomacy, Axios reported Sunday, citing a senior US official and an Israeli source.

An Iranian official involved in the discussions between Washington and Tehran told MS NOW that a peace deal with Trump is "no longer feasible" after the latest exchange of fire.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 3.8% to $94.02 a barrel before the open, while Brent gained 3.6% to $96.43.

With no major economic reports scheduled for Monday, traders will turn their attention to the consumer price index for May on Wednesday, followed by data on wholesale prices for the same month on Thursday.

On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that total nonfarm payrolls in the US rose by 172,000 in May, nearly double the 88,000 increase expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

Treasury yields were trending upwards in premarket action, with the two-year rate rising 0.2 basis points to 4.16% and the 10-year rate inclining 1.8 basis points to 4.55%.

Eli Lilly's (LLY) shares advanced 3.9% pre-bell after the drugmaker said its investigational drug for obesity, retatrutide, showed "substantial" weight loss in two clinical studies, as well as "meaningful" improvements in knee osteoarthritis pain and sleep apnea.

Oracle (ORCL) and Adobe (ADBE) are scheduled to report their latest financial results later this week. Campbell's (CPB) posts its earnings before the bell Monday.

Gold declined 0.9% to $4,325 per troy ounce, while bitcoin climbed 2.9% to $63,118.

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