Oil prices dropped and stocks rallied after President Trump said the U.S. will postpone strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for five days, and that the two countries are in talks over a potential deal to end the war.
Brent crude futures fell sharply, trading below $100 a barrel for the first time in days, reflecting optimism that energy flows through the Persian Gulf could recover soon. In recent trading, Brent was around $101, down 10% on the day.
All three major U.S. stock indexes pushed higher, with the Dow industrials gaining about 800 points, or 1.8%, after being up more than 2% earlier. All 11 S&P sectors were in the green; Consumer stocks were strong, and travel stocks rose, with United Airlines and American Airlines both more than 4% higher.
The moves presented a stark change from the tone over the weekend, when Trump had set a deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Monday evening, threatening to "obliterate" Iran's power plants if this didn't happen.
Gold pared losses after Trump effectively extended that deadline, but still traded 3.6% lower on the day. The precious metal ended last week with steep declines on worries that the conflict would keep interest rates elevated.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, which had earlier jumped above 4.4%, retreated on news of the talks. They recently traded near 4.34%.
Overseas, European stocks sharply reversed course after Trump's post about talks with Iran. The Stoxx 600 index, which had been more than 1.5% lower earlier, gained 0.6%.
Bitcoin jumped around 4%, rising alongside other cryptocurrencies.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2026 14:01 ET (18:01 GMT)
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