07:31 AM EDT, 03/16/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The benchmark US stock measures were pointing higher before the opening bell Monday and oil prices remained elevated as the Middle East conflict continues, while investors await a key policy decision by the Federal Reserve later this week.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.2% and the Nasdaq added 0.5% in premarket activity. The indexes closed Friday's trading session in the red.

President Donald Trump told NBC News in an interview on Saturday that Iran is willing to negotiate a ceasefire, but he's not ready to make a deal to end the war "because the terms aren't good enough yet." Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reportedly said over the weekend that Tehran hasn't asked for talks or a ceasefire.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil edged up 0.1% to $98.76 a barrel before the open, while Brent gained 1.2% to $104.41.

In a social media post on Friday, Trump said he ordered strikes on Iran's military assets located on Kharg Island, but chose not to target the oil infrastructure on the strategically important location. "However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the free and safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision," according to Trump.

Iran has effectively shut down the crucial strait, the world's most important chokepoint for crude flows, targeting vessels and ships that attempt to pass through. Tehran reiterated that it will retaliate against US facilities in the Middle East if its energy infrastructure is attacked.

In a separate post on Truth Social, Trump said countries that receive oil through the strait "must take care of that passage," and that the US will coordinate with these nations to ensure everything goes smoothly. "This should have always been a team effort, and now it will be," Trump said in the post.

The Fed's monetary policy committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, with a decision on interest rates due on Wednesday. Markets are widely expecting the central bank to keep its key lending rate unchanged, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

The Federal Open Market Committee kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged at its last meeting in January.

US Treasury yields were down in premarket action, with the two-year rate retreating 4 basis points to 3.69% and the 10-year rate decreasing 3.2 basis points to 4.25%.

Delayed government data on Friday showed that consumer spending growth held steady in January while the Fed's preferred inflation metric accelerated year over year. Analysts cautioned that purchasing power could come under pressure as a result of higher energy prices driven by the Middle East conflict.

The US economy expanded in the last quarter of 2025 at a slower pace than initially estimated amid weaker consumer spending and a larger downturn in exports, a separate report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed last week.

Monday's economic calendar has the delayed retail sales report for February at 8:30 am ET, along with the Empire State manufacturing index for March. The industrial production report for February is out at 9:15 am, followed by the housing market index for the current month at 10 am.

Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) , KE Holdings ( BEKE ) , Forgent Power Solutions ( FPS ) and Science Applications International ( SAIC ) report their latest financial results before the bell, among others.

Micron Technology ( MU ) , Alibaba Group ( BABA ) , Accenture ( ACN ) , Jabil ( JBL ) , General Mills ( GIS ) , Lululemon Athletica ( LULU ) and DocuSign ( DOCU ) are scheduled to release their earnings later in the week.

Gold fell 1.6% to $4,983 per troy ounce, while bitcoin advanced 2.7% to $73,459.