Oil futures surged in the first trades since the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran over the weekend.

US crude rose as much as 8%, to around $72 on Sunday evening and dropped to $71 later. Brent crude, the international benchmark, initially rocketed more than 12% higher to about $82 a barrel but fell below $78 later in the evening. Brent settled at just over $73 a barrel on Friday.

Meanwhile, stock futures fell. Futures for the S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow were all down about 1%. But futures for Exxon, Chevron and many other oil companies rose about 2% each. Defense stocks, like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, were up…