-- US equity futures were marginally lower pre-bell Monday as the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz continued, with the Iran-US conflict reaching its third month and traders noting the increase in oil prices.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.3% lower, S&P 500 futures were down 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.1% higher.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that the US would help guide vessels stranded in the Persian Gulf due to the conflict, and Iran responded by warning US forces not to enter the Strait of Hormuz.
A US warship was turned away from entering the waterway after being hit by two missiles fired by Iran's navy near the port of Jask, according to Iran's Fars news agency, but a senior US official denied the report, Axios said.
Among the companies expected to report quarterly earnings this week are Palantir Technologies (PLTR), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), HSBC (HSBC), Arm (ARM), Shell (SHEL), and McDonald's (MCD).
Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 2% at $110.31 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 0.8% higher at $102.72 per barrel.
March factory orders, due at 10 am ET, are expected to have gained 0.6%, compared with no change previously, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams is due to speak today.
In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei, China's Shanghai Composite, and the UK's FTSE 100 were all closed due to public holidays. Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1.2% higher. Germany's DAX index was flat in Europe's early afternoon session.
In equities, Alibaba (BABA) shares rose 2% after Chinese robotics startup Linkerbot, which is backed by Alibaba unit Ant Group, said it will seek a $6 billion valuation in its next funding round, according to a Reuters report. EBay (EBAY) stock was 7.5% higher after GameStop (GME) said it submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire all outstanding shares of eBay for $125 each. Tyson Foods (TSN) shares were up 1.6% after the company reported fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings and sales that surpassed analysts' consensus.
On the losing side, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) stock was down 5.9% after the company issued lower-than-expected Q2 adjusted earnings guidance and trimmed its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook.