Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Futures Slide After US-Iran Talks Collapse: Why SNDK, PATH, INTC, PLTR, IDYA Are In Focus

• Trump ordered a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic following the collapse of weekend peace talks.
• Oil surged, with WTI jumping to $105 and Brent rising to $103.
• Inflation remained in focus after March CPI rose 0.9% from the previous month and 3.3% from a year ago.

U.S. stock futures tumbled Sunday night after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic following failed weekend peace talks, triggering an oil spike and putting investors back on geopolitical alert.

As of 9 p.m. ET, Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Dow futures were all down 1%. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was ‘extremely bearish’ amid ‘high’ message volume, while sentiment toward the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) was ‘bearish’ amid ‘low’ message volume.

US Market Drivers

Trump said the U.S. would begin blockading ships entering and leaving Iranian ports following the breakdown of negotiations with Iran in Islamabad over the weekend.

“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said on Truth Social late Sunday, adding that Iran “will not be allowed to profit off this Illegal Act of EXTORTION.”

In a subsequent post, Trump said Iran had promised to reopen the Strait of Hormuz but “knowingly failed to do so,” warning that the country “better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST!” He also said the talks in Islamabad lasted nearly 20 hours but ultimately failed because “IRAN IS UNWILLING TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS!”

U.S. Central Command said the blockade of maritime traffic into and out of Iranian ports would begin at 10 a.m. ET on Monday, though vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to non-Iranian ports would not be impeded. However, Iran said it will not allow the blockade to proceed.

Vice President J.D. Vance left Islamabad this weekend without a deal after citing Iran’s unwillingness to halt its nuclear weapons pursuit, while both sides remained divided over sanctions relief, control of the Strait of Hormuz, and broader regional security issues.

Oil prices surged as tensions escalated. WTI crude rose 8.67% to $104.94 a barrel, while Brent crude climbed 8.03% to $102.84.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump and his advisers are also considering resuming limited military strikes against Iran following the collapse of talks in Pakistan. Meanwhile, a full-scale bombing campaign is supposedly less likely due to risks of further destabilizing the region.

Major U.S. indexes closed mixed in the prior session but still recorded their strongest weekly performance since November:

Gary Black, managing partner at The Future Fund, said on X that he expects “more equities and oil price volatility tomorrow” following the collapse of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Inflation remained a focus for investors last week, as rising energy prices stemming from the Middle East conflict weighed on markets. March consumer price index data showed that headline inflation rose 0.9% for the month and 3.3% annually, including a 10.9% increase in energy costs. Core CPI rose 0.2% from the previous month and 2.6% from a year ago.

Trending Stocks To Watch On NYSE, Nasdaq

SanDisk (SNDK): Shares rose over 1% overnight after the company was selected to replace Atlassian in a major index reshuffle effective before the market open on April 20.

UiPath (PATH): Shares hit an all-time low on Friday as fresh AI tool launches, including Anthropic’s Claude Managed Agents platform, fueled concerns that AI-native automation solutions could pressure traditional enterprise workflow and robotic process automation providers.

Intel (INTC): Shares hit a record high on Friday amid strong demand for server CPUs, with Jefferies raising its price target to $60 from $45, citing favorable pricing conditions.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR): Shares fell nearly 1% overnight amid broader market weakness, even after Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management bought about 85,500 shares on Friday.

Ideaya Biosciences (IDYA): Shares jumped 30% overnight after the company said it will release topline results from a late-stage trial testing its cancer drug combination Darovasertib and Crizotinib in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma on Monday.

How Global Markets Are Performing Today

In broader markets, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note stood at 4.31%, while gold traded around $4,656 an ounce after falling about 2%. 

Asian markets traded lower, with weaker openings in Japan and Australia, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan declined 0.5%.

Among the catalysts for Monday are the March existing-home sales data and remarks from Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Mnuchin.

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