US markets point lower as crude prices breach $100 with the conflict around Iran intensifying

U.S. futures are sliding after intensifying violence in the Middle East pushed the price of crude oil over $100 a barrel.

It's the first time Brent crude, the international standard, has reached triple digits in nearly six weeks. Fighting in the Middle East has throttled the global flow of oil and rising energy prices are adding to inflationary pressures.

Brent crude rose 2.8% to $100.70 a barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 2.4% to $95.28 a barrel, and it's dragging gasoline prices higher with it.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline ticked up 7 cents overnight to hit $4.22, now more than a dollar above what it cost at this point last year, according to AAA.

Diesel prices, which can have an outsized impact on consumers because it is used in shipping and production, hit an all-time high Friday and has continued to climb since. The average price for a gallon reached $5.94 overnight and is now 9 cents higher than it was Friday.

Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 0.3% before the market opened Wednesday, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined 0.5%. Nasdaq futures fell 0.4%.

Shares of Meta Platforms are up more than 5% in premarket trading as the parent company of Instagram and Facebook launched a personal artificial intelligence agent, Muse, for people 18 and over who are looking for help with day-to-day tasks like schedules and shopping.

The U.S. this week also release inflation data. On Thursday, the U.S. government will release its August report for inflation at the wholesale level. The more closely watched Consumer Price Index comes out on Friday. The CPI provides details on price changes for specific grocery items, furniture, and clothing, among other categories.

Economists expect consumer inflation to have eased a bit, to 3.3% from July’s 3.4%. That’s well above the 2% target that the Federal Reserve has set as its goal.

The Fed meets next week to decide whether to cut, raise or hold interest rates steady. The traditional move for the Fed when inflation is high is to raise its main interest rate. But President Donald Trump has been lobbying for lower interest rates.

Japan’s central bank also will meet next week to decide on its benchmark rate. Market watchers are expecting an increase, with the question shifting to by how much and if there will be more rate hikes this year.

In Europe, France's CAC 40 slipped 1.6% to 8,183.80, while the German DAX declined 1.4% to 25,648.34. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.9% to 10,711.42. Asian markets were mixed.

The U.S. dollar fell to 153.55 Japanese yen from 153.99. The euro cost $1.1633, inching up from $1.1624.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

Specialists Dilip Patel works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei and New York Dow indexes at a securities firm Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic on Wednesday called an early parliamentary election for Oct. 25 after nearly two years of street protests that have rattled his rule.

He issued a decree dissolving the 250-member Parliament and paving the way for the vote. He said a snap election was necessary because of ongoing tensions and divisions in the Balkan country.

Vucic, who cannot run for another presidential term, has said he plans to run for prime minister instead.

“We have had … huge turbulences,” Vucic said in an address. “We need election results that will clearly show the will of the people and the direction where Serbia is going.”

The ballot will be held against the backdrop of heightened political tensions as ruling populists seek to hold on to power despite widespread popular discontent.

The street protests started after a train station tragedy on Nov. 1, 2024, killed 16 people in northern Serbia. The protesters demanded accountability for the concrete canopy collapse in the city of Novi Sad and an end to the corruption they blame for substandard renovation work.

Almost daily demonstrations, sometimes drawing hundreds of thousands of people, shook Vucic more than at any time since he came to power in 2012. Protesting students have demanded early parliamentary elections for over a year, but Vucic has apparently waited until he felt strong enough to run.

The president and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party have been accused of curbing democratic freedoms and of ties to organized crime, which he has denied. Serbia’s bid to join the European Union has stalled under Vucic, who has maintained close ties with both Russia and China.

Vucic has faced additional EU pressure in the past week over the public homage to war criminal Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb army commander, who was buried as a hero in Serbia on Monday despite his conviction for genocide by a U.N. court.

The student-backed election list for Parliament is expected to include university professors and experts. The movement has gained huge support among the 6.5 million voters in Serbia, many of them disillusioned by mainstream politicians.

Several right-wing and center-left opposition parties will also run.

As Vucic announced the election, the students' movement posted on social networks that “it is time for victory!”

Vucic has pushed hard against the protesters, sparking international concern over police violence and arbitrary detentions. He has accused the students and professors behind the protests of an intention to “destroy the state.” Hundreds of people have been detained or lost their jobs for supporting the protests.

Vucic reiterated on Wednesday that “it would be wrong to assume” that political tensions were the result of disagreements in Serbia alone. He said that “we have had unrest and clashes and a divided society with considerable interference of foreign powers.”

He did not specify which alleged foreign powers nor offer any evidence for his claims. He urged voters to make their choice in a “peaceful and dignified way.”

Student Filip Gajic said “people are optimistic — that is why I think that a change is possible.”

Belgrade resident Danica Ercedi said she expected Vucic to win, “and nothing else.”

Vucic has said he will resign the presidency in the coming weeks so he can join the campaign for the parliamentary vote. He cannot run for president again after serving two almost full terms. An early presidential election will be held separately.

Analysts say the so-called Students’ List presents a serious challenge to the ruling populists. Dejan Pavlovic, from Belgrade’s Faculty of Political Sciences, drew a comparison with an election this year in Hungary that swept from power another authoritarian, Viktor Orbán.

Pavlovic said a scenario might unfold “similar to (the) Hungarian one, where the challenger, without the media support, without the resources, still manages to provide (a) very persuasive win.” Pavlovic said Vucic “offers a lot, he promises a lot and presses voters.”

The populists have gradually taken over Serbia’s institutions and mainstream media after coming to power in 2012.

A local election in Serbia earlier this year was marred by violence, including against journalists, drawing international concern. Observers during a 2023 parliamentary vote also reported multiple irregularities that included media bias, group voting and misuse of public resources in favor of the ruling party.

FILE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic waves a Serbian flag during a rally of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in Belgrade, Serbia, on June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)