Oil Jumps, US Stock Futures Fall. RGC Warns Vessels to Avoid Strait of Hormuz, Says It Will Be Temporarily Closed

Oil jumped, while US stock futures declined after American forces started new strikes on Iran, putting further strain on a fragile ceasefire and threatening to prolong the conflict in the Middle East that’s upended global markets.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the Strait of Hormuz will be temporarily closed until further notice, blaming repeated US violations of a ceasefire. The IRGC warned all vessels not to move from anchorages in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman and said any approach to the Strait would be treated as cooperation with the enemy.

West Texas Intermediate crude surged as much as 3.83% to $93.48 a barrel. S&P 500 futures fell 0.52% and Nasdaq 100 contracts lost 0.83%, extending declines after both benchmarks retreated in the US session.

The latest strikes highlighted President Donald Trump’s growing impatience with stalled peace efforts after months of failed negotiations. They also reinforced the view that an April ceasefire has effectively collapsed, despite the absence of a return to the large-scale bombing campaign seen at the start of the conflict.

“We’re going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard,” Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday, before the latest strikes were announced. “We hit them hard yesterday, and we’re going to hit them hard again today.”