US Stock Futures Rebound on Watch for US Intervention in Iran Attack

Crude oil, which surged the previous day, falls by 1%

Interest in future rate outlook amid Fed rate freeze

On the 18th (local time), as the armed conflict between Israel and Iran entered its sixth day, uncertainty intensified amid the possibility of US intervention, and US stock futures, which had declined the previous day, turned upward for a slight gain. Crude oil prices, which surged the previous day, reversed to a downturn.

As the Federal Reserve System's monetary policy was set to be announced, as of 6:50 a.m. Eastern Time, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq index futures were trading up 0.3% and 0.38%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%.

Benchmark Brent crude oil, which had soared about 10% following Israel's airstrike on Iran, decreased by more than 1% to record $75.6 per barrel on the day. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also traded in the low $74 range, down 1%.

The 10-year US Treasury yield, which had also risen the previous day, increased by 2 basis points (1 bp=0.01%) to record 4.41%. The dollar index, which had jumped the most in a month in the US market the previous day, fell 0.1% at the European ICE exchange.

In the Asian market, which closed earlier, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose 0.9%, while Korea's KOSPI also climbed 0.7%. Among mainland China indexes, the Shanghai CSI rose 0.04%, while the Hang Seng index dropped 1.1%. The MSCI Asia Index and Emerging Markets Index both slipped slightly.

STOXX Europe 600 was down 0.1% as of 10:00 a.m. London time in European trading.

President Trump met with his national security team for more than an hour the previous day, fueling new speculation that the US might participate in an attack on Iran. President Trump demanded surrender from Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling him an easy target on his own social media.

With the Fed scheduled to announce its policy decision later in the day, a rate freeze is considered certain. The market is betting on two 0.25% rate cuts this year, and the first cut has already been priced in for October. The Fed may reveal its intention for a rate cut through its revised economic outlook and rate projections on this day.

Jung-A Kim, Contributing Reporter kja@hankyung.com