Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. <\/p>\n
NYSE<\/p>\n
Stock futures fell slightly on Wednesday as investors continued to eye developments in the U.S.-Iran war and oil prices as well as weighed key consumer inflation data<\/a>.<\/p>\n S&P 500 futures<\/a> and Nasdaq 100 futures<\/a> dropped 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average<\/a> shed 151 points, or 0.3%. <\/p>\n West Texas Intermediate futures<\/a> climbed 4% to around $87 per barrel. Brent crude<\/a> also traded 4% higher at $91 per barrel. However, investors got some relief from the prospect of a major reserve release from countries as the conflict continues. <\/p>\n Multiple reports stated that the International Energy Agency would announce later in the day a historic release of emergency oil reserves<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a Wednesday morning note, analysts at Goldman Sachs said the IEA’s proposed oil release would offset 12 days of their estimated 15.4 million barrels per day of export disruption. They said this could take $7 off of oil prices, assuming 50% of the emergency stock releases remain in OECD commercial storage. <\/p>\n To be sure, a prolonged conflict could keep prices elevated. Overnight, it was reported<\/a> that American forces had sunk several Iranian ships, including 16 minelayers, near the Strait of Hormuz as Tehran was seeking to mine the critical shipping route at the center of concerns around oil supplies.<\/p>\n The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations also said Wednesday that three cargo ships<\/a> off Iran’s coast, one of which was in the Strait, have been struck by projectiles.<\/p>\n This comes just days after President Donald Trump said earlier this week that the war will end “very soon<\/a>.”<\/p>\n “Trump suggesting the war may be ending soon, post an extraordinary surge in oil volatility, may imply his ‘pain threshold’ has been reached, in our view. This has reinforced market expectations of a quick de-escalation,” wrote Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy at Barclays, in a Wednesday note.<\/p>\n “The longer the oil spike persists, the higher the downside risk to earnings and valuations,” he also wrote.<\/p>\n The consumer price index increased 2.4% on a year-over-year basis in February. That was in line with what economists polled by Dow Jones anticipated. The report comes after signs of a weakening labor market<\/a> have grown in recent months.<\/p>\n