US pre-open: Futures slip as crude turns higher again

20th Mar 2026 10:05

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Friday as oil prices resumed their upward march after a brief pullback.

As of 1200 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.25%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.36% and 0.59% lower, respectively.

The Dow closed 203.72 points lower on Thursday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.

While oil prices extended their pullback in early pre-market action, they later resumed their climb, with Brent currently trading at $110.50 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was changing hands at $96.78 a barrel.

Oil prices had initially eased after Israel said it would not attack Iran's gas field and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the war would end sooner than people think, even though he also alluded to a ground component. Worth noting was news that the USS Tripoli was on its way to the region. Donald Trump also said the war "will be over soon".

The moves come after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington was considering lifting sanctions on some Iranian oil in an effort to ease prices - effectively reversing a policy that has been central to Donald Trump's strategy since he first took office in 2016 and withdrew from America's nuclear deal with Tehran. Iran's oil exports have been under sanctions for more than a decade, with the toughest measures imposed in 2019.

Tehran has yet to respond, but Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi also said the country's response to Israel's strike on the South Pars gas field used only a "FRACTION of our power", adding that "the ONLY reason for restraint was respect for requested de‑escalation".

No major corporate earnings or data points were scheduled for release on Friday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com