A jump in oil prices and energy shares is in focus for investors, after a U.S.-led coalition launched strikes on Houthi rebel targets in Yemen. Brent crude futures rose past $80 a barrel—a level not seen since late last year.
It is also a bank-earnings bonanza this morning.
A slate of large banks are reporting quarterly results. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America are up first, followed shortly thereafter by Wells Fargo and Citigroup. Meanwhile, BlackRock has unveiled a $12.5 billion deal to buy Global Infrastructure Partners, marking its biggest takeover since 2009.
A premarket selloff in Tesla shares weighed on Nasdaq-100 futures. The EV maker said it was halting production at its Berlin factory. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials hovered.
Oil prices jumped. Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures each jumped around 4%.
Bitcoin fell to around $46,000, erasing some of the gains generated after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved bitcoin ETFs for everyday investors.
The 10-year Treasury yield ticked up slightly, to just below 4%.
Overseas, the Stoxx Europe 600 climbed. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 continued its recent rally, rising 1.5%.
The U.S. producer-price index for December is due at 8:30 a.m. ET, and is expected to have increased 0.1% from November. On Thursday, another gauge, the consumer-price index, showed inflation ticked up last month.
