US Stock Market: Dow Jones, Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Crash On Monday; Wall Street Outlook For Aug 31-Sept 4

The US stock futures crashed sharply on Monday after tensions in the Middle East escalated as the US military targeted Iranian rocket launches during the weekend. Also, the hawkish stance of the US Federal Reserve's chair, Kevin Warsh, in Jackson Hole meeting added to the bearish sentiment. Both the Dow Jones and Nasdaq futures plunged by over 180 points, while S&P 500 futures also slipped significantly. For the trading week of August 31 to September 4, experts have given a cautious outlook. The G20 finance ministers' and central bank governors' meeting on Monday and Tuesday will be eyed keenly.

US Stock Futures Crash Today

The Dow Jones futures dropped by 160 points or 0.3% to trade around 53,439, at the time of writing. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 futures tumbled by 185 points to trade around 29,306.75. The S&P 500 futures is also down by 28 points to 7,694.

US stock futures slipped on Monday as oil prices jumped after the US military targeted Iranian rocket launchers preparing to deploy mines into the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first such attack in more than a month. Investors also digested hawkish signals from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, who reiterated his commitment to bringing inflation down, strengthening bets for an interest rate hike in September, as per Trading Economics.

Dow Jones + Nasdaq + S&P 500 Weekly Performance

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, or DJIA, closed at 53,559.99 on Friday, marginally down. The S&P 500 index was also in red, ending at 7,711.76 with a downside of 19.23 points. But the Nasdaq Composite index underperformed with a 138.93-point, or 0.52%, decline to close the week at 26,402.42.

Despite the latest performance, all three indices on Wall Street recorded weekly gains. Nasdaq outperformed Dow Jones and S&P 500.

From August 24-29, Dow Jones' weekly gains is around 298.04 points or 0.6% and S&P 500 index surges 48.38 points or 0.63%. While the tech-heavy index, Nasdaq Composite, outperforms with 337.10 points or 1.3% upside.

For the weekly performance, Nathan Peterson, Director of Derivatives Research at Charles Schwab said, overall, the weekly range on the major indices, along with total daily volume, was relatively tight and light, which is common during the summertime. The strategist pointed out that overall the week was surrounded around Nvidia results and Jackson Hole speech.

US Stock Market Weekly Trading Outlook For August 31-September 4:

For this week's trading sessions, Peterson added, "I'm going to provide an overall "Cautious" outlook on stocks next week. What could challenge my forecast? It's possible that markets see a "bounce back" from today's Jackson Hole speech, which isn't uncommon the day after the press conference from an FOMC meeting. Also, the Nonfarm Payrolls reports have been weak recently, and if next Friday's report is soft, this could ease rate hike concerns and translate into a bullish move for stocks."

The strategist highlighted that there are a couple of potential market moving catalysts traders may want to consider: On Monday & Tuesday there will be a G20 Finance meeting, on Tuesday & Wednesday there will be a G20 Innovation Ministerial meeting (which includes keynotes speeches from NVDA CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman) and on Friday we will get the monthly jobs report. Additionally, some traders may be coming back from vacation (though many wait until after Labor Day), which could result in some adjustments to positioning and/or generate a lift in overall trade volume.

Further, he said, stocks are also entering the month of September, which is historically the worst performing month for the S&P 500 index.

Key Factors To Impact Wall Street

Monday, August 31, 2026

Investors focus will turn to the two-days meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors which will commence from August 31, 2026.

Apart from this, earnings of Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) and So-Young International Inc. (SY) will be in focus.

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Further, on Tuesday, focus will be on Construction Spending and ISM Manufacturing Index. Also, G20 Innovation Ministerial meeting will be held from September 1st and 2nd.

A host of companies are scheduled to declare their quarterly earnings on Tuesday. These include, Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (CRDO), Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL), GitLab Inc. (GTLB), Medtronic PLC (MDT), MiniMed Group Inc. (MMED), MongoDB Inc. (MDB), NIO Inc. (NIO), and Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PANW).

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Economic data such as ADP Employment Change, Business Inventories, EIA Crude Oil Inventories, Factory Orders, and MBA Mortgage Applications Index are scheduled on Wednesday.

Among earnings, watch out for Aerovironment Inc. (AVAV), Argan Inc. (AGX), Broadcom Inc. (AVGO), Brown-Forman Corp. (BF/B), Five Below Inc. (FIVE), Forgent Power Solutions Inc. (FPS), Fuelcell Energy Inc. (FCEL), G-III Apparel Group (GIII), Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE), NetApp Inc. (NTAP), PVH Corp. (PVH), and Snowflake Inc. (SNOW).

Thursday, September 3, 2026

On Thursday, economic data like Continuing Claims, EIA Natural Gas Inventories, Initial Claims, ISM Non-Manufacturing, Productivity-Revised, Trade Balance, and Unit Labor Costs will be released.

In case of earnings, companies like Ambarella Inc. (AMBA), Asana Inc. (ASAN), Campbell's Co. (CPB), Ciena Corp. (CIEN), Copart Inc. (CPRT), DocuSign Inc. (DOCU), Guideware Software Inc. (GWRE), Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU), The Toro Company (TTC), VinFast Auto Ltd. (VFS), Samsara Inc. (IOT), and Zscaler Inc. (ZS) will be in focus.

Friday, September 4, 2026

The Friday session will be crucial as economic data like Average Hourly Earnings, Average Workweek, Nonfarm Payrolls, and Unemployment Rate will be released.

For corporate earnings, stocks like Children's Place Inc. (PLCE) and Knot Offshore Partners LP (KNOP) will be in focus.

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