Dow futures drop 400 points as Iranian war tensions escalate

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/19/stock-market-today-live-updates.html Stock futures tumbled Sunday night as tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated over the weekend with the seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures shed 452 points, or 0.9%. S&P 500 futures lost 0.8%, while Nasdaq-100 futures pulled back by 0.6%. President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. had fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman. This comes after Iran declined to join another round of peace talks in Pakistan planned by the U.S. The Iranian ship “is under U.S. Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board,” Trump said in Truth Social post. Trump also threatened to blow up all power plants and bridges in Iran if the country didn’t agree to a deal with the U.S. A ceasefire between the two countries will expire this week. Crude prices surged in early trading. West Texas Intermediate futures popped 8% to $90.54 per barrel. International Brent advanced 6% to $96.50. Wall Street is coming off a winning week, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbing to all-time highs following a ceasefire between Iran and Lebanon. At the time, Iran had declared that the Strait of Hormuz was reopened, though by Saturday vessel traffic through that key shipping lane was restricted again, with state media saying the U.S. “did not fulfill their obligations.” Trump has reiterated that the U.S. blockade of the strait would remain in place until Iran agreed to U.S. demands, despite the Iranian declarations. The S&P 500 last week gained 4.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite popped 7.2%. The latter also posted on Friday its 13th consecutive winning session, matching a streak not seen since 1992. “After the Nasdaq has rallied for 13 days in a row on hopes for a deal, we ended the week very overbought on a short term basis. And now the situation with Iran is gotten even more complicated and uncertain on when this conflict will end and when the Strait will fully reopen without fear of attack,” Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners, told CNBC in an email.