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Oil Prices Fall Even With Ceasefire Plan Uncertainty
But Stok Gains Appear Shaky
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NEW YORK — Hope for a possible end tothe war with Iranis pushing stocks higher again on Wall Street Wednesday, while oil prices ease.
The S&P 500 rose 0.7% in its latestflip-flopafter the United States delivereda plan to pause the warto Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 334points, or 0.7%, as of 12:48 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1% higher.
But the moves are shaky, and the S&P 500 during the morning briefly came close to erasing all of an early 1.2% jump.Financial markets have swung sharply since the war began more than three weeks ago, and many of the reversals have struckhour to houras uncertainty continues to dominate about how long the war will last.
Keeping up that uncertainty on March 25: Iran dismissed the U.S. government's 15-point proposal for a ceasefire, and Iranian state television quoted an anonymous official as saying “Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met.”
Iran also launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, including an assault that sparked a huge fire at Kuwait International Airport, while coming under attack itself. The U.S. military is deployingparatroopers and more Marines to the region.
Optimism, though, was nevertheless evident in financial markets worldwide. Stock indexes climbed more than 1% in London, Paris and Shanghai. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 leaped 2.9%.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude fell 3.7% and dropped toward $96 on hopes that a cooldown in fighting could allow oil and natural gas to flow more freely from the Persian Gulf to customers around the world. Many oil tankers are currently stuck outside theStrait of Hormuzoff Iran’s coast, and the blockage has sent Brent crude to nearly $120 per barrel at times.
In the bond market, Treasury yields also eased. That could help soften the rise in rates formortgagesand other kinds of borrowing since the beginning of the war. That in turn could lessen the pressure on the economy.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Iran is going to make a deal. The new leadership gave us a significant present that showed me that we’re dealing with the right people. — Department of State (@StateDept)
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.31% from 4.39% late March 24, though it remains well above its 3.97% level from just before the war.
Even gold, which has been one of the investment world’s worst losers through the war, rose. It climbed 3.4% to top $4,550 per ounce.
Gold's price had briefly gotten near $5,400 early this month. That was before Treasury yields rushed higher on worries that high oil prices would drive inflation upward and prevent theFederal Reservefrom cutting interest rates. When bonds are paying more in interest, they make gold, which pays its investors nothing, less attractive in comparison.
On Wall Street, Arm Holdings soared 19.6% after the U.K. giant announced a suite of chips for data centers and artificial-intelligence technology.
Robinhood Markets leaped 6.5% to help lead U.S. stocks after its board authorized a program to send up to $1.5 billion to shareholders by buying back the company’s stock.
Bob Toews of TruckDown explores how fleets can streamline their response to breakdowns and safely get their trucks back on the road as quickly as possible.Tune in above or by going to .
Terns Pharmaceuticals rose 5.5% afterMerck said it would buy the oncology companyin an all-cash deal valuing it at $6.7 billion. Merck rose 2.9%.
On the losing end of Wall Street was On Holding. The Swiss company that sells On shoes slumped 10.8% after saying its CEO, Martin Hoffmann, is stepping down.
In Hong Kong,Pop Mart International Grouptumbled 22.5% after the company behind thepopular Labubu dollsreported explosive growth in profit and revenue, but not enough to meet analysts' expectations.
AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Mat Ott contributed.
