Stock futures are rising to open the holiday-shortened trading week after five straight weeks of losses for major indexes; President Donald Trump told The Financial Times he would prefer to take oil out of Iran, which would likely mean a ground operation that could extend the war significantly; the president is also reportedly considering using ground troops to find and extract hundreds of pounds of uranium from Iran as a means of taking away its capability to create a nuclear weapon; earnings from Nike and the March jobs report will be in focus this week; and Eli Lilly has signed a deal with Insilico Medicine, an AI drug development company. Here's what you need to know today.

Stock futures are higher this morning as investors digest a number of developments in the Iran war. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were each up 0.6% recently. All three major indexes sank Friday, locking in their fifth straight week of declines, with the Dow and Nasdaq Composite each falling into correction territory. Crude oil futures rose to their highest levels in nearly four years today as the latest comments from President Trump are failing to reassure investors that the war in Iran will be over soon (more on that below). Gold futures were up nearly 2% at $4,570 an ounce, while bitcoin traded at $67,600, up from an overnight low just below $65,000. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which hit its highest level since July last week amid the stock market volatility, was at 4.37%, down from 4.44% at Friday's close.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, were back above $100 a barrel this morning following comments from President Trump over the weekend about the situation in Iran. The President told The Financial Times that his "favorite" plan would be to "take the oil in Iran," which would likely mean using ground troops to capture Kharg Island, a major export hub for Iranian oil. Trump also said such an operation would likely extend the war, in contrast with his previous public comments indicating that he would rather end the war sooner. The U.S. and Iran have offered very different viewpoints on how close the war could be to ending, with Iranian officials repeatedly disputing claims from American officials that ceasefire talks are progressing, or ongoing at all. WTI futures are trading at their highest levels since July 2022. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, were up 2% at $115 per barrel, also at their highest levels since mid-2022.

President Trump is also considering whether the U.S. should send in troops to extract hundreds of pounds of uranium from sites in Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. No decisions about the plan have been made, with U.S. officials hoping Iran agrees to give up its uranium as one of several conditions in a deal to end the war, per the Journal. A ground operation to extract the uranium from any of the three sites where experts believe it is could force troops to be on the ground for days or even a week, experts said. A key focus of the war for the Trump administration has been taking away Iran's ability to build a nuclear weapon, despite the administration claiming Iran's nuclear capabilities were completely destroyed after a series of bombings last June.

Investors have a busy week of earnings reports and economic data ahead. Economic data includes retail sales and the ADP private payrolls jobs report on Wednesday, an update on the trade deficit on Thursday, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics' jobs report for March due out on Friday. Nike (NKE) is the highest-profile earnings report scheduled for this week, slated for release after the closing bell Tuesday, giving investors a look at the athletic apparel giant's turnaround effort. Other notable earnings reports include McCormick & Co. (MKC) and TD Synnex (SNX) on Tuesday, along with ConAgra Brands (CAG), Lamb Weston (LW), and Cal-Maine (CALM) on Wednesday. The stock market will be closed on Friday in observance of Good Friday, while the bond market will end trading at noon that day.

Eli Lilly (LLY) has agreed to a new partnership with Insilico Medicine, which is developing drugs with AI tools. The deal gives the Zepbound and Mounjaro maker an exclusive license to sell any of Insilico's drugs that make it to the market, with the companies also collaborating on drug development. About half of the 28 drugs developed by Insilico's AI are in the clinical trial stage, CEO Alex Zhavoronkov told CNBC. Eli Lilly is paying Insilico, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, $115 million up front, with a number of development, regulatory and sales milestones that could lift the deal's value up to $2.75 billion. Eli Lilly shares were up slightly in premarket trading.

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