The S&P 500 bounced off four-month lows after Trump announced a five-day pause in military strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure—a move that sent crude oil tumbling nearly 8% and triggered a rapid unwinding of the war premium embedded across asset classes.
Trump claims that the U.S. and Iran had “very good and productive conversations” over the past two days, and later reiterated to Fox Business that “Iran wants to make a deal badly” with the two sides having “major points of agreement.” Iranian officials across multiple branches of government have flatly denied any negotiations, with one senior figure accusing Washington of spreading "fake news to manipulate financial and oil markets."
US Equities, Oil Market React Swiftly
WTI crude crashed as much as $11 from Friday’s close on the Trump’s 5-day pause announcement, touching a session low near $86 before partially recovering to around $90.39 per barrel by midday, still down $7.71, or 7.9%, on the day.
Brent crude fell to $103.14, shedding $9.05, or 8.1%.
The S&P 500 rose 88.99 points, or 1.37%, to 6,595 at midday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 788 points, or 1.72%, to 46,366, with Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT), 3M Co. (NYSE:MMM), and Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) among the blue-chip index’s ...
