Editor’s Note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs, and the headline were updated in the story.
U.S. stock futures fell sharply on Monday following Friday’s losses. Futures of the major benchmark indices were negative amid the ongoing Iran-U.S. conflict.
Over the weekend, the 86-year-old Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes carried out by Israel and the U.S. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump suggested that the current U.S. and Israel’s military strikes against Iran, also called “Operation Epic Furry,” could persist for “four to five weeks,” if necessary.
According to Polymarket, the chances of the index opening higher on March 2 crashed to a mere 10% chance, a 40% drop from previous levels, as over $1.07 million in volume poured into the contract.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 3.97%, and the two-year bond was at 3.42%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 95.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in March.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -1.15% |
| S&P 500 | -1.12% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -1.51% |
| Russell 2000 | -1.36% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were lower in premarket on Friday. The SPY was down 0.81% at $680.40, while the QQQ declined 1.06% to $600.87.
Stocks In Focus
AMTD Digital
- AMTD Digital Inc. ADR (NYSE:HKD) surged 20% in premarket on Monday after it reported a year-over-year increase in FY25 revenue results.
- HKD had a weaker price trend in the long term but a strong trend in the medium and short terms, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.
Aardvark Therapeutics
- Aardvark Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:AARD) plunged 53.56% after the company announced it voluntarily paused the Phase 3 Hunger Elimination or Reduction Objective trial.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that …
