S&P Futures Fall 1%, Brent Rises Amid Gulf Tensions
Key Facts
U.S. stock futures fell in early trading on Thursday, October 22, 2026, as oil rose amid reports of damage to tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and moves to evacuate employees and diplomats from Saudi Arabia. The Associated Press reported that S&P 500 futures fell 1%, while Dow Jones futures lost 0.7%. The decline followed gains in U.S. stocks on Wednesday, when the S&P 500 rose 44.60 points. The index gained 0.6% that session to close at 7,757.17, according to the agency. Among individual companies, Tesla shares fell 3.2% in after-hours trading on Wednesday. The stock had risen 3.6% during the regular session before turning lower in subsequent trading, according to the Associated Press.
In the oil market, Brent crude futures rose to $111.88 a barrel at 11:04 GMT on Thursday, according to Reuters. At that point in trading, the increase stood at $3.06 a barrel, or 2.81%. The rise in crude coincided with a decline in U.S. commercial oil inventories in the week ended October 16, according to Investing.com, citing the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The figures showed inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels that week. Total inventories stood at 412.5 million barrels after the decline. These figures cover U.S. commercial crude inventories excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
In the Gulf, the Associated Press cited Tehran as saying that 7 oil tankers caught fire or were damaged in the Strait of Hormuz overnight from Wednesday into Thursday. The Iranian side said the tankers were hit by Iranian strikes or struck naval mines, according to the agency. In Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Saudi Aramco instructed employees to "evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran and work remotely." The Associated Press had reported on Wednesday evening that the U.S. State Department ordered some diplomats and family members of U.S. government employees to leave Saudi Arabia. The departure order came amid concerns over escalating Houthi attacks, according to the agency. Against the backdrop of tensions with Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump had previously announced that he would not order a resumption of military strikes on the country before the U.S. midterm elections, according to the Associated Press.
On the U.S. economy, the Labor Department said in its statement released on Thursday, October 22, that seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims totaled 194,000 for the week ended October 17. Claims fell by 6,000 from the revised level for the previous week, which ended October 10. The department revised that week's reading up from 199,000 to 200,000. The four-week moving average of claims also fell to 197,750 in the week ended October 17. That average declined by 1,000 from the previous revised average, according to the department. By contrast, seasonally adjusted continuing claims rose to 1,728,000 for the week ended October 10, a weekly increase of 25,000. The increase in continuing claims thus covered a week earlier than the period in which initial claims declined.
These developments come ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting and after its previous decision to raise interest rates on September 16, 2026. The U.S. central bank increased the target range for the federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point in that decision. The target range following the increase was 3.75%–4%, with 4% as its upper bound. The Federal Reserve said in its statement at the time that "economic activity is expanding at a solid pace." It added that "inflation remains elevated" in its assessment of economic conditions accompanying the rate increase. According to the Federal Open Market Committee's official schedule, the next meeting takes place on October 27–28, 2026. It will be followed by a meeting scheduled for December 8–9, 2026.