S&P 500 Erases 1.2% Decline on Ceasefire Hopes: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Hopes for a diplomatic way out of the war in the Middle East spurred a bounce in stocks as oil fell ahead of President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to agree to a ceasefire.
In the final stretch of a jittery Wall Street session, markets got a degree of relief as Pakistan urged the US for a two-week extension of the deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The S&P 500 erased a 1.2% drop. US crude slipped to around $112 in late hours. Bond yields and the dollar fell.
“I can’t tell you, because right now we’re in heated negotiations,” Trump said in a telephone interview with Fox News when asked about the Pakistani request. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement earlier that Trump “has been made aware of the proposal, and a response will come.”
Trump earlier Tuesday threatened to wipe out Iran’s “whole civilization,” pressing the nation to make an agreement before his Tuesday 8 p.m. deadline.
Mediators raced to keep ceasefire talks on track after Iran responded by halting its participation in the discussions, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Trump began issuing deadlines on March 21 to force Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly a fifth of seaborne oil shipments, and has repeatedly extended the timeline.
“Hope remains that Trump’s brinkmanship will produce a last-minute agreement to resolve the situation, or perhaps another postponement of the threat to destroy Iran’s domestic infrastructure,” said veteran strategist Louis Navellier.
While geopolitical risks remained front and center, traders kept an eye on the latest economic data for clues on any potential impacts of the war.
Near-term inflation expectations jumped in March by the most in a year as consumers anticipated higher gas and food prices with the onset of war in the Middle East, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey.
Fed Bank of New York President John Williams told Bloomberg Television his outlook for underlying price pressures was largely unchanged despite his expectation that higher energy costs stemming from the war will boost overall inflation.
His Chicago counterpart Austan Goolsbee said the spike in oil prices, coupled with low hiring by businesses, raises concern about the US economy.
“I’m cautious — slash — nervous about it,” he said at an event in Detroit.
Corporate Highlights:
Apple Inc.’s first foldable phone is on track to arrive during the company’s normal iPhone launch period later this year, people with knowledge of the matter said, rebutting concerns about major manufacturing snags. Intel Corp. is joining Elon Musk’s long-shot effort to develop semiconductors for Tesla Inc., SpaceX and xAI, marking a surprising twist in the chipmaker’s comeback bid. Pacific Investment Management Co. is in talks with Bank of America Corp. to help provide roughly $14 billion of debt financing to build a massive Oracle Corp. data center in Michigan, according to people familiar with the matter. Anthropic PBC said its revenue run rate has now topped $30 billion, up from $9 billion at the end of 2025, and confirmed plans to work with Broadcom Inc. and Google to power its burgeoning operations. Bill Ackman is pitching a deal for Universal Music Group NV — the record label giant behind celebrities including Taylor Swift and Drake — that he’s claiming will dramatically boost the value of company largely by moving its listing to the US. Shares of major insurance companies climbed as the US Medicare program will pay private insurers 2.48% more in 2027, a meaningful improvement over the initial rates the agency proposed in January. What Bloomberg strategists say…
“If the Iran risk premium fades, equities have a cleaner path higher as valuations look more attractive.”
—Michael Ball, Macro Strategist, Markets Live. For the full analysis, click here.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 was little changed as of 4 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 was little changed The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% The MSCI World Index was little changed Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3% The euro rose 0.5% to $1.1599 The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.3294 The Japanese yen was little changed at 159.55 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.6% to $69,433.49 Ether fell 1.4% to $2,118.61 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 4.30% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced nine basis points to 3.08% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced seven basis points to 4.90% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4% to $111.93 a barrel Spot gold rose 1.3% to $4,709.82 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
