07:46 AM EDT, 03/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The benchmark US stock measures were pointing higher before the open Friday as traders await key inflation data and continue to monitor oil prices and developments in the Middle East conflict.

The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq rose 0.1% each in premarket activity. The indexes finished Thursday's trading session at their lowest level of the year.

The delayed personal income and outlays report for January is scheduled to be released at 8:30 am ET. The report includes the personal consumption expenditure core price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric.

US Treasury yields were pointing downwards in premarket action, with the two-year rate retreating 2.6 basis points to 3.74% and the 10-year rate decreased 1.2 basis points to 4.26%.

Earlier in the week, government data showed that annual inflation in the US held steady in February, although analysts warned that a spike in energy prices poses upside risks to inflation.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 1.2% to $94.55 a barrel before the opening bell, while Brent edged down 0.7% to $99.76.

Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly said Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz -- the world's most important chokepoint for crude flows -- should remain shut. Mojtaba is the son of the former leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the initial US and Israel strikes.

Mojtaba sought the immediate closure of US military bases in the Middle East, saying those bases will be attacked, according to media reports. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it will set the region's oil and gas infrastructure on fire if Iran's energy assets and ports are attacked, CNN reported.

President Donald Trump said in a social media post that the US is destroying Iran's regime and has "plenty of time."

Israel launched fresh strikes on Tehran, while explosions in Dubai and other Gulf cities signal a potential widening of hostilities, according to several media outlets.

The International Energy Agency on Thursday slashed its oil output growth forecast for this year, saying the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global crude market.

"There are concerns about the speed at which this oil will reach the market and whether it will be enough to tie up the market until we see oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz again," ING said. "The only way to see oil prices trade lower on a sustained basis is by getting oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. Failing to do so means that the market highs are still ahead of us."

Friday's economic calendar also has the delayed durable goods orders report for January at 8:30 am, along with the second estimate report of the fourth-quarter gross domestic product. The preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment report for March is out at 10 am, along with the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for January.

The weekly Baker Hughes oil-and-gas rig count posts at 1 pm.

Shares of Adobe (ADBE) slipped nearly 8% pre-bell after the software maker said its Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen plans to step down. Ulta Beauty ( ULTA ) dropped 8.4% as the beauty retailer issued a downbeat fiscal 2026 earnings outlook.

Gold declined 0.6% to $5,097 per troy ounce, while bitcoin gained 3.1% to $72,510.