Dow Jones Today | US stock market LIVE Updates: S&P 500 futures tick higher as crude oil trades lower

Every airline has contingency plans to manage disruptions from extreme weather or mechanical failures, but those based in the Middle East always have another item on their list: war.

And last week, Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways Co. was one of those mobilising after the US and Israel attacked Iran. The low-cost carrier grounded planes, whisked its crews and passengers to safe locations and worked diplomatic channels to get 200 Iranian customers back home by land through Iraq, Chief Executive Officer Barathan Pasupathi said.

Enacting these steps was complicated by the fact that Pasupathi, a Singaporean national who previously ran Jetstar Asia Airways, was in Munich when he received a call that nations across the Gulf were closing their airspace.

European stocks saw their biggest gain since May on increased investor optimism for a short-lived conflict in the Middle East.

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 1.6% by 1:38 p.m. in London. The New York Times reported that Iran had earlier made indirect contact with the US to negotiate an end to the war, while US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that he expected control of Iranian skies “in under a week.”

Stocks had earlier pared gains after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a proposed 15% global tariff may take effect this week.

Stocks rose and oil steadied as developments in the Middle East boosted traders’ optimism that the war in Iran could be shorter-lived than initially feared. The dollar slid after two days of haven-driven gains.

S&P 500 futures advanced 0.3% after swinging between gains and losses. Brent crude dipped toward $81 a barrel. A selloff in global bonds eased, with the yield on 10-year Treasuries little changed at 4.06%. The dollar dropped 0.2%. Bitcoin topped $71,000.

Sentiment received a boost after the New York Times reported that Tehran had made indirect contact with the US to negotiate an end to the conflict, even though officials were skeptical that either Iran or the Trump administration was ready for an off-ramp. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said US and Israel had full control of Iranian airspace.

Private sector hiring was a bit better than expected in February, though most of the job creation came from just two sectors, ADP reported on Wednesday.

Companies added a seasonally adjusted 63,000 workers during the month, an improvement from the downwardly revised 11,000 in January and better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 48,000, according to the payrolls processing firm’s latest update. Read more.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. projected quarterly sales that were roughly in line with analysts’ estimates, signalling steady demand in an era when artificial intelligence has heightened concerns over cybersecurity threats.

Revenue will be $1.36 billion to $1.364 billion in the period ending in April, the Austin-based company said Tuesday in a statement. Analysts, on average, estimated $1.36 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that President Donald Trump’s plan to increase a 10% universal tariff up to 15% will likely be done this week. “That’s likely sometime this week,” Bessent said on CNBC in response to a question about when the increase to 15% would be implemented.

Trump last month put a 10% universal levy in place after the Supreme Court invalidated most of his previous tariff regime. Bessent noted that the authority for the new duties only allows for the measure to last 150 days. During that time, he said that US trade authorities will be looking at using other legislation to resurrect the tariff regime that had been in place prior to the high court’s ruling.

Kraken has been awarded a limited purpose account by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, giving the crypto exchange direct access to the Fed’s core payment systems.

The account allows Kraken to move money on rails reserved for licensed banks, a privilege that lenders have long monopolised. Crypto and fintech firms typically rely on partner banks for access, as well as for compliance infrastructure like anti-money laundering monitoring.

Gold advanced, recovering some of the losses of the previous session, as dip-buyers entered a market fraught with risk on the fifth day of war in the Middle East.

Bullion climbed as much as 2.3%, clawing back ground after a four-day winning streak ended Tuesday. Traders are balancing gold’s risk premium against a stronger dollar, with a gauge of the US currency rallying through the week. Bond yields advanced, and surging energy prices heightened the risk of widespread inflation.

That prompted traders to scale back bets on monetary easing, while a broad selloff across equities on Tuesday forced some investors to liquidate their positions to meet margin calls elsewhere in their portfolios.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that the United States will provide risk insurance for maritime trade moving through the Persian Gulf, in an attempt to restore tanker movement through the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz. Tanker traffic through the strait, regarded as the world’s most vital crude oil transit route, had effectively halted after a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that ships attempting to pass through the corridor could be set on fire. The US move is aimed at reassuring shipping companies and oil traders amid escalating tensions in the region and preventing prolonged disruption to global energy supply chains.

Indian equity benchmarks ended sharply lower on Tuesday, extending losses for a third consecutive session as escalating tensions in West Asia kept investors on edge. The Sensex dropped over 1,100 points to close at 79,116, while the Nifty slipped below the 24,500 mark to settle at 24,481.

The rupee also came under pressure, ending at a record closing low of 92.15 against the US dollar, compared to 91.47 in the previous session. Rising crude oil prices and persistent foreign fund outflows weighed on sentiment, with market breadth firmly tilted towards declines. Read more here

US stock futures staged a notable recovery, signalling a potential turnaround after earlier weakness. Futures linked to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq turned positive in pre-market trade, while Dow futures sharply trimmed losses.

Dow futures, which were down nearly 300 points earlier, have now narrowed their decline to around 60 points, indicating improving sentiment..

Benchmark indices on Wall Street staged a sharp recovery from the day’s lows on Tuesday, though all three major averages still finished in negative territory.

The rebound came after US President Donald Trump said he had asked the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide risk insurance and guarantees for maritime trade — particularly energy shipments — moving through the Gulf, aiming to stabilise tanker traffic and ease supply concerns.

Read more here.

US stocks endured another volatile session on Tuesday as fears of a prolonged US–Iran conflict weighed heavily on investor sentiment, though later remarks from President Donald Trump helped pare some of the steepest losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 403.51 points, or 0.83%, to close at 48,501.27. The S&P 500 declined 0.94% to end at 6,816.63, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.02% to settle at 22,516.69.

Earlier in the session, however, losses were far deeper. At its intraday low, the Dow had plunged more than 1,200 points — roughly 2.6%. The S&P 500 was down as much as 2.5%, and the Nasdaq slid around 2.7%, as escalating geopolitical tensions triggered a sharp risk-off move.