Oil prices climbed more than 5% and Wall Street veered toward losses before the opening bell Monday as a standoff between Iran and the U.S. prevented tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz.

Futures for the S&P 500 also fell 0.5% while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.6%. Nasdaq futures also were off by 0.5%.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a phone call on Monday that "normal traffic" through the vital Strait of Hormuz "should be maintained", state media said.

Xi also stressed in the call that China "advocates for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire", state broadcaster CCTV said.

Oil prices plunged Friday after Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the vital Strait of Hormuz was "completely open" for commercial tankers and cargo ships during the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

International benchmark Brent North Sea crude plunged 10 percent to $89.11 a barrel, after earlier falling five percent on U.S.-Iran peace deal hopes.

The leaders of France and the U.K. gathered dozens of countries — but not the United States — on Friday to push forward plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil route choked off by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

The Paris meeting is part of attempts by sidelined nations to ease the impact of a conflict they didn't start and haven't joined, but that has sent the global economy reeling. After the war started on Feb. 28, Iran effectively shut the narrow strait though which a fifth of the world's oil usually passes.

The Iran war has stalled the world's economic momentum this year, likely pushing growth lower compared to 2025, the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday.

The IMF downgraded its forecast for global growth to 3.1% in 2026 from the 3.3% it had forecast back in January. The expected growth would mark a deceleration from a 3.4% expansion in 2025.

Wall Street was on track to extend its rally and oil prices fell Tuesday as expectations rose over a possible second round of talks between the U.S. and Iran to end their war.

Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.3% before the opening bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 0.1%. Nasdaq futures climbed 0.5%.

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair a conference Friday in Paris, bringing together non-belligerent nations willing to participate in a mission in the Strait of Hormuz “when security conditions allow.”

Other participants will take part via videoconference, Macron’s office said. European and other partners are ready to contribute to a “purely defensive mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said.

The leaders of China and Spain on Tuesday pledged to strengthen their relations and work to safeguard multilateralism at a time when the world is being impacted by various conflicts, including the recent war in Iran, during a meeting in Beijing on Tuesday.

"We should strengthen communication, consolidate mutual trust, cooperate closely, oppose the world's retrogression to the law of the jungle, and jointly safeguard genuine multilateralism," said Chinese President Xi Jinping during a reception for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at the Great Hall of the People.

Two ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz since Iran agreed to reopen the waterway as part of a ceasefire deal, maritime monitor Marine Traffic said Wednesday.

"The Greek-owned bulk carrier NJ Earth crossed the Strait at 08:44 UTC, while the Liberia-flagged Daytona Beach transited earlier at 06:59 UTC, shortly after departing Bandar Abbas at 05:28 UTC", MarineTraffic said on X.

Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war: