U.S. stock futures fell Wednesday, with risk sentiment hit by the escalated tensions in the Middle East as well as disappointing news from sportswear giant Nike .
By 06:10 ET (10:10 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was down 160 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 Futures traded 23 points, or 0.4%, lower and Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 85 points, or 0.4%.
The main indices recorded a negative session on Wall Street Tuesday, the first trading day of the new month and quarter, after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel as retaliation to Israeli strikes on Lebanon-based Hezbollah.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 170 points or 0.4%, the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.9% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.5%.
Middle East hits risk sentiment This negative sentiment remained Wednesday, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a retaliation to Tehran's airstrikes, saying in a statement that Iran "made a big mistake" and "will pay for it."
The US has also said there will be "severe consequences" for Tehran's actions, with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin adding that Washington is "well-postured" to defend its interests in the Middle East.
Although the situation has the potential to deteriorate further, UBS expects it will "stop short of an all-out war between Israel and Iran, including their respective allies."
Nike withdraws forecast Also weighing on risk appetite was disappointing news from Nike (NYSE:NKE), after the US athletic apparel maker withdrew its full-year financial forecast and posted a 10% slump in quarterly revenue.
Its stock slumped over 5% premarket.
The results come as Nike undergoes an executive-level shake-up that will see boss John Donahoe replaced by company veteran Elliott Hill. Donahoe had overseen a period of weak performance fueled by stiff competition in the $150 billion a year global sneakers market.
ADP payrolls due There is more US economic data to study Wednesday, with the monthly ADP private payrolls release offering more insight into the state of the country’s labor market.
This comes ahead of Friday’s key nonfarm payrolls report, which is likely to set the market’s direction ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next rate-setting meeting.
Crude soars on Middle East turmoil Oil prices soared Wednesday as the escalating tensions in the Middle East raised concerns about a potential hit to output from that oil-rich region.
By 06:10 ET, the Brent contract climbed 2.8% to $75.78 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 3% higher at $71.92 per barrel. Both crude benchmarks surged more than 5% on Tuesday after Iran's attack on Israel.
Elsewhere, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, is due to meet later in the session, but no changes to output are expected at this point.
US crude inventories fell by about 1.46 million barrels for the week ended Sept. 27, compared with expectations of a decline of about 2.1M barrels, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute.
The official government inventory report is set to be released later in the session.
