Oil slides and stocks tepidly rise after Trump says US-Iran war is nearing its end

Oil prices dropped on Tuesday morning, with front-month crude futures down more than 6%, as traders digested President Trump’s comments late Monday suggesting the US-Iran conflict may soon end — easing fears that have rattled global energy and stock markets over the past 10 days.

On Monday, Trump told CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang in a phone interview that the war is “very complete, pretty much.” He later tempered that somewhat at a separate press conference held at Trump National Doral in Miami, saying the conflict would end “very soon,” though not this week.

Since US and Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28, markets have been experiencing relentless volatility: Brent crude surged to nearly $120 per barrel during Monday’s trading session, the highest intraday price since the early days of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. Gas prices, which largely track crude, even breached the $3.50-per-gallon mark, with analysts and prediction markets eyeing the $4 mark as a real possibility if the conflict drags on.

Despite Tuesday’s pullback following Trump’s remarks, oil prices remain elevated, up roughly 50% since the start of the year as disruptions continue around the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil flows.

After turning a deeply red day into a green one yesterday, equity traders continued to breathe a tentative sigh of relief. After the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000 closed higher Monday, wiping out steep intraday losses, S&P 500 futures were modestly in the green early on Tuesday, while Europe’s STOXX 600 rallied ~2%.

As of 9:07 a.m. ET, however, S&P 500 futures have dipped 0.22% and oil has pared some of its earlier losses, following Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s warning that today would be the “most intense day of strikes inside Iran.”

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