U.S. Stocks May Give Back Ground After Yesterday's Rebound

(RTTNews) - Stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Tuesday, giving back ground following the strong upward move seen in the previous session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.4 percent.

The downward momentum on Wall Street comes amid a rebound by the price of crude oil, as international benchmark Brent crude futures have jumped back above $100 a barrel.

Brent crude futures plunged by nearly 11 percent during Monday's trading after President Donald Trump claimed the U.S. and Iran held productive talks to end the conflict in the Middle East.

Oil is rebounding as Israel and Iran have continued to exchange strikes, with huge explosions heard in Tehran and other cities, as Iran denied it held talks with the U.S. to end the war.

"Iranian people demand complete and remorseful punishment of the aggressors," Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote in response to Trump's comments.

He claimed Trump's latest rhetoric "is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the U.S. and Israel are trapped."

Iran's foreign ministry said Trump's remarks were "part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time" for military plans.

As the conflict entered its 25th day with no immediate signs of de-escalation, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are edging toward joining the fight against Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported.

After moving sharply higher early in the session, stocks gave back some ground over the course of the trading day on Monday but continued to turn in a strong performance. The major averages all rebounded after ending last Friday's trading at their lowest levels in several months.

The major averages ended the day well off their highs of the session but still posted notable gains. The Dow surged 631.00 points or 1.4 percent to 46,208.47, the Nasdaq jumped 299.15 points or 1.4 percent to 21,946.76 and the S&P 500 shot up 74.52 points or 1.2 percent to 6,581.00.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged by 2.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are surging $3.52 to $91.65 a barrel after plunging $10.10 to $88.13 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after plunging $167.60 to $4,407.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $9.70 to $4,397.60 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 158.82 yen compared to the 158.43 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1583 compared to yesterday's $1.1612.