Will Iran play in the 2026 World Cup?
Iran’s participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup is uncertain due to recent escalation in regional tensions and diplomatic fallout.
March 5 (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures fell slightly on Thursday, after the market briefly rebounded the previous day, as investors digested the growing fallout from the escalating Middle East war.
Earlier in the day, Iran fired a new missile at Israel, just hours after Washington’s efforts to thwart a U.S. airstrike hit a wall.
Safe-haven gold and the dollar continued to rise, while U.S. Treasuries cooled, with the 10-year Treasury yield at its highest level since early February.
Oil prices soared more than 3% on the day and more than 15% this week, extending their gains as the conflict entered its sixth day, with concerns still lingering that rising energy costs could ripple through the economy and cloud the already shaky outlook of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
As of 2:40 a.m. ET, the Dow E-mini YMcv1 was down 185 points, or 0.38%, the S&P 500 E-mini EScv1 was down 14 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq 100 E-mini NQcv1 was down 62.75 points, or 0.25%.
Investors have been quick to return to tech, even as nerves are frayed by the prospect of a prolonged conflict and rising fuel prices that have reignited inflation concerns. The Nasdaq is up 0.6% so far this week, as bargain hunters have driven much of this week’s decline, scavenging technology stocks that were hit hard last month. On the other hand, the S&P 500 index remained slightly lower.
Wednesday’s small rally was once again supported by tech stocks. The Nasdaq rose 1.29%, the S&P 500 rose 0.8% and the Dow finished up 0.5%. Reports that Iran was open to dialogue and US President Donald Trump’s pledge to maintain stability in the oil market helped calm the mood.
The gains were supported by new indicators that suggest U.S. economic activity is holding up, even as government officials downplayed the inflationary hit from soaring oil prices.
The market will then analyze weekly jobless claims later in the day, before turning to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report.
Investors will also be looking for new Fed signals after a series of hawkish comments, with remarks from Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman expected later in the day.
(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob Phillips)
