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US stocks opened lower after President Trump declared that “a whole civilization will die tonight” unless “something revolutionarily wonderful” happens to intervene in his deadline, set for 8 pm tonight (Wednesday morning IST). The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% at the open, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the indexes lower with a loss of 0.4%.

New orders for key US-manufactured ‌capital goods increased more ‌than expected in February, but data ​for the prior month was revised sharply lower, suggesting some moderation in business spending ‌on equipment ⁠in the first quarter. Non-defense capital goods orders excluding ⁠aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending, rose ​0.6% after ​a ​downwardly revised 0.4% ‌drop in January, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Tuesday.

Oil prices rallied Tuesday morning after comments from President Trump suggested the US leader is planning to stick to his imposed deadline of 8 pm ET tonight before ordering a widespread airstrike campaign inside Iran. Futures on Brent crude, the international pricing benchmark, surged by 1.3% to trade above $111 per barrel. Those on US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude jumped by 3.3% to change hands around $116 per barrel.

US stock futures slipped on Tuesday after President Trump escalated bombing rhetoric ahead of his fast-approaching deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes to destroy its key infrastructure. Contracts on the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid about 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively, unwinding earlier slight premarket gains. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.8% after Wall Street stocks finished in positive territory on Monday.

A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran! – Tump on Truth Social

The growing stress in the oil market triggered by the war in West Asia is showing up in huge premiums for prompt real-world barrels, with the wider Brent complex working as it should, according to Morgan Stanley.

Buyers are “paying an exceptional premium for secure, refinery-usable Atlantic Basin barrels available now,” analysts including Martijn Rats said in a note dated April 7. “That does not mean the futures market is broken. It just means that different parts of the complex are pricing different combinations of immediacy, tightness and expected persistence,” they added.

Bitcoin dropped nearly 2% overnight as the US-Israeli war against Iran spooked risk favouring investors amid high volatility. The cryptocurrency quoted at $68,356, down 1.77% as of around 5.30 pm IST. Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, slipped as much as 2.2% and was trading near $68,800 on Tuesday afternoon in Singapore, giving up gains from the previous session. The token had briefly crossed $70,000 on Monday for the first time since March. Other digital assets also weakened, with Ether, the second‑largest cryptocurrency, falling up to 2.8%.

“Bitcoin sentiment remains bearish in the short to medium term,” a Yahoo Finance report quoted Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets. She noted that investors are largely in wait‑and‑watch mode, with bulls lacking the confidence to push prices higher and bears unable to trigger a sharp breakdown.

Markets are closely tracking developments in West Asia. Trump has given another 48-hour deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, set to expire Tuesday evening.

Good evening and welcome to CNBC-TV18’s live coverage of the US markets today. For starters, futures tagged to benchmark indices on the Wall Street are indicating a subdued open as investors balance risk appetite amid the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, especially ahead of the looming Trump-imposed deadline on Iran. At 5.08 pm IST, S&P Futures were 21 points lower, while Dow Futures traded 134 points down. Nasdaq Futures were also lower by over 100 points.

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