U.S equity futures inched down on Wednesday, extending the slight pullback from the previous session and tracking some fresh traction for energy prices amid the consistent exchange of strikes between forces in the Persian Gulf. Contracts tracking the three main indices dropped around 0.3%. Fresh escalation between in the war including Iran, GCC nations, and US-Israeli military furthered expectations that energy exports from the region will remain halted, triggering a fresh surge in petroleum products and lifting the outlook on inflation. Those lifted Treasury yields despite no upside surprises to the US CPI for February and the IEA recommendation of an aggressive release of strategic oil reserves for G7 countries, pressuring credit-sensitive equity sectors. Still, companies in the AI space were supported by the guidance beat for Oracle overnight, pressing against concerns of exaggerated datacenter expenditure by AI giants. Oracle shares were 10% higher premarket.
