(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 10 mar - US futures were lower as investors assessed comments from president Donald Trump that the war with Iran could 'end soon' but that hostilities could also be stepped up if Tehran proved uncooperative.

Wall Street ended higher yesterday after Trump said the war with Iran was ahead of schedule. The Dow closed up 0.5%, the S&P 500 rose 0.8% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.4%.

In a series of comments to the media, Trump said "the war is very complete, pretty much,' adding the US was 'very far' ahead of his previously stated timeframe of four to five weeks.

He also said he was 'thinking about' taking over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil trade which has been paralysed by the hostilities. Trump warned Iran he was ready to step up attacks on the country if Tehran continued to hold up oil flows in the Strait.

Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister said any discussion of a ceasefire with the US was off the table while the CEO of Saudi oil company Aramco warned of 'catastrophic consequences for the world's oil markets' if the disruption to oil flows continued.

Energy ministers from the Group of Seven are gathering today to consider the possible release of strategic oil reserves.

On the stocks front, shares in Hewlett Packard rose in premarket trade after the server and cloud-software provider lifted its earnings outlook. Kohl's shares fell more than 3% after the department-store chain reported a lower-than-expected rise in quarterly sales.

Oracle is due to report its earnings today.

Futures on the Dow Jones were down 169.00 points, or 0.35%, S&P 500 futures were down 23.00 points, or 0.34%, while.

futures on the Nasdaq were down 60.50 points, or 0.24%.

(RADIOCOR) 10-03-26 13:57:20 (0395) 5 NNNN