07:25 AM EDT, 03/20/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The benchmark US stock measures were tracking in the red before the opening bell Friday while oil prices gained as the ongoing war in the Middle East shows no signs of easing.

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.3% each in premarket activity, while the Nasdaq was off 0.5%. The indexes finished Thursday lower for the second consecutive session.

Iran continued its strikes on Arab states in the Middle East even after Israel signaled it would refrain from targeting Tehran's energy infrastructure again, Bloomberg News reported Friday. Kuwait closed several units at a refinery, while the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia said they intercepted missiles and drones overnight, according to the report.

Earlier in the week, Iran struck a key liquefied natural gas export facility in Qatar after Israel attacked its South Pars gas field. The Israeli attack triggered a warning from Tehran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps to hit certain energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

"The move to strike Iranian energy assets is odd, given that the US administration has been trying over the last couple of weeks to ease the upward pressure on oil prices," ING said in a Thursday report. "Attacks on energy infrastructure eclipse these factors and, especially amid retaliation, point to additional upside for prices."

Brent crude increased 1.8% to $110.56 a barrel before the opening bell, while West Texas Intermediate rose 0.7% to $96.78.

The US has prepared a supply response aimed at mitigating the impact of potential temporary disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important chokepoint for crude flows, Fox Business reported Thursday, citing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The Trump administration had already moved to "unsanction" Russian oil cargoes already on the water and could do the same with approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian oil in floating storage, Bessent reportedly said.

Treasury yields were up in premarket action, with the two-year rate advancing 5.4 basis points to 3.89% and the 10-year rate gaining 2.3 basis points to 4.31%.

Shares of FedEx ( FDX ) spiked 8.9% pre-bell after the parcel delivery giant reported a surprise increase in fiscal third-quarter earnings. XPeng's ( XPEV ) US-listed stock declined 2.4% as the Chinese electric vehicle maker issued a downbeat revenue outlook for the first quarter.

Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) dropped 23% as US prosecutors indicted three individuals linked to the company over allegedly conspiring to commit export-control violations.

Friday's thin economic calendar has the weekly Baker Hughes oil-and-gas rig count at 1 pm ET.

Gold ticked up 1.2% to $4,659 per troy ounce, while bitcoin edged 0.3% higher to $70,517.