NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks rocketed higher Tuesday (Mar 31) while oil prices retreated after Iran’s president said his country had the “necessary will” to end the war with the United States and Israel, lifting hopes that a resolution was in site.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a phone call with the president of the European Council, said Iran had “the necessary will to end this conflict, provided that essential conditions are met – especially the guarantees required to prevent repetition of the aggression.”
The comments prompted a surge in US equities, with the blue-chip Dow index finishing up 2.5 per cent, or more than 1,125 points, at 46,341.51.
“This is the first concrete communication coming from Iran that feels verifiable,” said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management. “The market has been coiled for good news after having been down the last five weeks.”
Stocks appeared to shrug off subsequent remarks from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the more than month-long military campaign against Tehran was not over, vowing to crush Iran’s “terror regime.”
Pezeshkian’s remarks also shifted the oil market, which has been a major driver of financial markets since the US and Israel began their attacks on Iran on Feb 28.
Brent oil futures finished down 3.2 per cent at US$103.97 a barrel.
Even before Pezeshkian’s remarks, US and European stocks had risen following reports that US President Donald Trump had said he was willing to end the war even if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened.
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