08:51 AM EDT, 05/18/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were lower pre-bell Monday as tensions remain high in the Middle East after the UAE and Saudi Arabia reported fresh drone incidents on Sunday, raising traders'concerns around a return to hostilities in the region.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.3% lower, S&P 500 futures were down 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.1% lower.

The UAE defense ministry said that a drone attack from the "western border"had caused a fire at a nuclear plant, while Saudi Arabia reported intercepting three drones that entered from the airspace of Iraq.

President Donald Trump in a post on Truth Social urged Iran to "get moving"with regard to ending the conflict. "For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won't be anything left of them,"he said.

Among the companies reporting financial results this week are Home Depot (HD), Nvidia (NVDA), Analog Devices (ADI), and Walmart (WMT).

Oil prices were lower, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude down 0.7% at $108.66 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 0.8% lower at $100.25 per barrel.

The May US housing market index, slated for 10 am ET, is seen coming in at 34, unchanged from the prior month, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Cheryl Venable, interim president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, is slated to speak on Monday.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 1% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1.1% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.1% lower. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was up 0.5%, and Germany's DAX index was 0.8% higher in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, Dominion Energy (D) shares jumped 15% after the company and NextEra Energy (NEE) said they agreed to combine in an all-stock deal. ServiceNow (NOW) stock was up 5.1% after the company and Experian said they launched a multiyear partnership on autonomous AI agents across various platforms. Baidu (BIDU) shares were up 4.2% after the company posted Q1 non-GAAP earnings and revenue that surpassed analysts'consensus.

On the losing side, Tesla (TSLA) stock was down 0.9% after the company reportedly raised prices for several Tesla Model Y variants in the US, media outlets reported Saturday. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) shares were 12% lower after the company said its phase 3 skin cancer trial evaluating two dose levels of fianlimab in combination with cemiplimab failed to meet a primary endpoint. NextEra Energy stock was down 1.3% after the merger with Dominion Energy was announced.