Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Futures Slide After Trump Says US Will Hit Iran ‘Extremely Hard’ For Weeks: Why DJT, USO, TSLA, NVDA, MSTR Are In Focus

• Trump warned strikes on Iran would continue for the next two to three weeks in his latest address.
• Oil prices jumped after the speech, with WTI rising 3% to $103.45 and Brent climbing more than 4% to $ 105.51.
• Asian markets also turned lower after Trump’s remarks, with MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index, excluding Japan, falling over 1%.

U.S. stock futures slipped late Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that military operations against Iran would continue for weeks and threatened additional strikes, pushing oil prices higher and keeping traders focused on inflationary pressures ahead of a truncated trading week.

As of 10.10 p.m. ET, Nasdaq 100 futures were down 1.1%, while S&P 500 futures were down by 0.8%. Dow futures were down 0.8%.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) was ‘extremely bearish’ amid ‘high’ message volume.

US Market Drivers

Markets traded lower after Trump signaled military operations against Iran and said in his address, “We’re going to hit them extremely hard. Over the next two to three weeks, we’re going to bring them back to the Stone Age, where they belong.” 

He added that operations would continue until U.S. objectives are met, saying, “I’ve made clear from the beginning of Operation Epic Fury that we will continue until our objectives are fully achieved,” and that the military is “on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly, very shortly.”

Trump also reiterated that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons remains a central objective of the campaign, saying he had “vowed to never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.” Iran had earlier denied it was negotiating with the U.S.

Oil prices jumped after Trump’s speech reinforced expectations that the conflict could continue for weeks. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3% to $103.45, reversing earlier declines, while Brent crude jumped over 4% to %105.51.

Trump blamed Iran for rising gasoline prices, calling the increase “short-term,” and said countries dependent on the Strait of Hormuz should take responsibility for protecting the key shipping passage. “In the meantime, discussions are ongoing,” Trump said, while adding that countries relying on oil shipments through the Strait “must take care of that passage.” About one-fifth of the world’s oil flows through the strait.

U.S. equities ended Wednesday’s session higher on hopes that the Iran conflict would near an end:

Tom Keen, a derivatives trader at Piper Sandler, said traders have been quick to rotate back into equities, noting that “you get a whiff of good news, or a whiff of progress and people are quick to re-risk,” according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Investors also parsed stronger-than-expected economic data, including a rebound in retail sales and better-than-forecast job additions.

However, inflation expectations remain a concern. The Kobeissi Letter said on X that U.S. consumer inflation expectations rose 0.7 percentage points in March to 6.2%, the highest level since August 2025 and the largest increase since April 2025 following the “Liberation Day” tariffs. Thursday marks the anniversary of Trump raising the average tariff rate to 22.5% and declaring April 2 “Liberation Day,” which he said would “forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn.”

Trending Stocks To Watch On NYSE, Nasdaq

Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT): Shares fell about 2% overnight after Trump threatened continued strikes on Iran, weighing on risk sentiment.

United States Oil Fund (USO): Shares rose over 5% overnight as crude jumped above $105 following Trump’s warning that military operations against Iran would continue, reviving energy supply concerns.

Tesla (TSLA): Shares slipped about 2% overnight ahead of Q1 delivery results due Wednesday, with researcher Troy Teslike estimating 375,000 deliveries, above the 365,645 Wall Street consensus.

Nvidia (NVDA): Shares edged higher in after-hours trading following a near 1% gain on Wednesday after CoreWeave reported strong MLPerf inference benchmark results using Nvidia’s AI infrastructure.

MicroStrategy (MSTR): Shares fell about 2% on Wednesday due to insider selling, with director Jarrod Patten offloading shares as the stock faces pressure from dilution and broader market weakness amid Middle East tensions.

How Global Markets Are Performing Today

In broader markets, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was little changed at 4.31% at the start of April after rising nearly 37 basis points in March. Gold traded near $4,790 an ounce.

Asian markets turned lower after Trump’s remarks on Iran, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan falling more than 1%. Markets in Australia and Japan also reversed earlier gains and moved into negative territory following the speech.

Among the catalysts for the day are initial jobless claims, U.S. trade deficit data, remarks from Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, the March employment report, unemployment rate data, hourly wage figures, and the S&P final U.S. services PMI ahead of the Good Friday market closure.

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