Wall Street futures declined up to 2 percent on Thursday evening India time, pointing to a weak opening for US markets at around 7 pm IST. The US markets had closed sharply higher on Wednesday.

The decline in futures followed US President Donald Trump’s hardline remarks, which dampened hopes of an early reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a resolution to the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

At around 6 pm IST, futures linked to the Nasdaq-100 were down 1.97 percent. Futures of the S&P 500 declined 1.51 percent, while those of the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.38 percent.

Meanwhile, Brent crude prices rose above USD 109 per barrel. The Cboe Volatility Index moved up to around 27, while the yield on the 10-year US Treasury climbed to 4.37 percent.

In an address from the White House, Trump said Washington’s core strategic objectives in Iran were nearing completion. He, however, added that the US would hit Iran “extremely hard” over the next two to three weeks.

He did not indicate any timeline for the end of the conflict or offer clarity on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted global financial markets.

The S&P 500 had approached correction territory on Monday before recovering sharply over the next two sessions on reports suggesting that both the US and Iran were looking to end the conflict.

In Asia, markets ended mostly lower. South Korea’s Kospi fell 4.47 percent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 2.4 percent, Shanghai’s SSE Composite sliped 0.74 percent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.7 percent.

European markets were also trading in the red, with Germany’s DAX down 1.71 percent, France’s CAC 40 falling 0.98 percent and the UK’s FTSE 100 slipping 0.12 percent.