09:10 AM EDT, 03/23/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were up ahead of Monday's opening bell after President Donald Trump said he has ordered the US military to postpone strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure and power plants for five days.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 1.6%, S&P 500 futures were 1.5% higher, and Nasdaq futures were also up 1.5%.

"I am please(d) to report that the United States of America, and the country of Iran, have had, over the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East," Trump said Monday in a Truth Social post.

Over the weekend, Trump issued a 48-hour deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, or face strikes on its energy infrastructure.

Oil prices were lower, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude down 9.1% at $96.89 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 9.2% lower at $89.12 per barrel.

The January construction spending report, due at 10 am ET, is expected to show a 0.1% increase following a 0.3% gain in the prior month, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng both ended 3.5% lower, while China's Shanghai Composite finished 3.6% lower. The UK's FTSE 100 was 1.4% higher, and Germany's DAX index was up 2% in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, Synopsys ( SNPS ) stock was up 3% after media reports over the weekend that Elliott Investment Management has built a multibillion-dollar stake in the company.

On the losing side, Valneva (VALN) shares were 35% lower as the company and Pfizer ( PFE ) said their investigational vaccine candidate LB6V against outdoor Lyme disease reduced the rate of confirmed cases by 73.2% compared with placebo in a phase 3 clinical study.