Oil prices jump, U.S. stock futures down as tension rises in Strait of Hormuz

Wall Street dipped and oil prices jumped early Monday as Iran launched a new attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz and the country's state media said Iranian forces fired warning shots at U.S. warships near the entrance to the waterway.

Futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.2% before the opening bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5%. Nasdaq futures dipped 0.1%.

Oil prices initially jumped 5% after Iranian media claimed a U.S. ship had been hit by Iranian missiles, but after U.S. Central Command denied the report, prices rebounded slightly, though they were still up between 2% and 3%.

The price of a barrel of U.S. benchmark crude was up $2.18 at $104.12 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, jumped $3.06 to $111.23 a barrel. 

Project Freedom, a U.S. military initiative to help guide ships safely through the strait, got underway Monday, and CENTCOM said two commercial vessels had transited the narrow shipping lane under the guises of the program, along with U.S. Naval destroyers, but it offered no further detail.

The United Arab Emirates government said a tanker was targeted by two Iranian drones Monday in the strait. It was not clear if the vessel had attempted to ensure safe passage in coordination with the U.S. military's Project Freedom. Nobody was injured in the attack, the UAE said.

There were unconfirmed reports that a South Korean commercial vessel may also have been targeted in the strait on Monday.