Stocks Down Pre-Bell Amid Renewed Middle East Concerns; Traders Parse Fed Meeting Minutes

07:34 AM EDT, 10/08/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity markets were tracking in the red before the opening bell Thursday amid renewed concerns over potential US military action against Iran, while traders parse the Federal Reserve's September meeting minutes. The S&P 500 declined 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%, and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.5% in premarket activity. The Dow and the S&P 500 closed Wednesday's trading session lower, each snapping a four-day winning streak, while the Nasdaq Composite was down for the first time in five days. President Donald Trump and his national security team have discussed resuming large-scale military operations against Iran, potentially before the US midterm elections in November, NBC News reported Wednesday, citing sources. At a campaign rally in Texas on Wednesday, Trump reportedly said he no longer wants to pursue a peace deal with Iran, according to CNBC. "I think the deal isn't really something that I want to do, but they're willing to offer us anything to stop," Trump said, according to the report. West Texas Intermediate crude oil spiked 4.1% to $91.87 a barrel early Thursday, while Brent gained 4% to $104.24. Minutes from the Fed's September meeting showed Wednesday that most policymakers expect another interest rate hike by year-end to curb inflation. However, they vowed to base their future policy decisions on fresh data. "Fed officials saw higher inflation as the major risk to their outlook and expected to raise rates at least once more this year," Oxford Economics Lead US Economist Nancy Vanden Houten said in remarks emailed to MT Newswires on Wednesday. "The exact timing will depend on how officials' assessment of the risks to inflation and the labor market evolves." Fed Governor Christopher Waller reportedly said at an economic forum in Turkey on Thursday that the central bank would need to raise interest rates further to bring inflation back to its 2% target faster if economic data continues to come in as expected. "There is some flexibility about when those hikes will occur," Waller reportedly said. "The hikes do not need to come at consecutive meetings, but they should be in place in an acceptable period of time." Markets are currently pricing in an 81% probability that the central bank will keep its benchmark rate steady later this month, with the remaining odds in favor of a 25-basis-point hike, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Treasury yields were trending upwards, with the two-year rate inclining 4.4 basis points to 4.8% and the 10-year rate adding 6.2 basis points to 5.34%. Beverage and snacks giant PepsiCo (PEP) shares gained in the premarket activity after reporting third-quarter results. Levi Strauss (LEVI) nudged 0.2% lower pre-bell after the denim maker reported fiscal third-quarter sales below market estimates. Applied Digital (APLD) increased nearly 4% following its latest financial results. Thursday's thin economic calendar has the weekly jobless claims bulletin at 8:30 am ET. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem are slated to speak later today. Spot gold ticked up 0.2% to $4,148 per troy ounce, while bitcoin decreased 0.4% to $83,030.