The U.S. stock market is expected to open flat on Wednesday, March 11, as investors keep a close watch on escalating tensions in the Middle East, now in their 12th day, while awaiting the release of the February inflation report.
Futures tied to the three major indices—the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite—were largely unchanged in pre-market trading. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, extending its decline and falling further below its 50-day and 100-day moving averages.
Although the index remains within about 3% of its January record high, underlying trading activity in the U.S. stock market has been uneven. The market had been mostly flat for the year before the conflict in the Middle East began.
Meanwhile, the CBOE Volatility Index briefly climbed above 35 earlier this week—its highest level since the market turbulence sparked by tariff tensions during Donald Trump’s trade actions in the spring of 2025, according to Bloomberg.
