The S&P 500 leaped 2.4% after Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, less than 90 minutes before a deadline Trump had set for it to open the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf and reach customers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1,332 points, or 2.9%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.9% higher following even bigger gains in European and Asian stock markets.
To be sure, stock prices are still below where they were before the war. And oil prices are still higher because the threat remains that the war could continue and keep oil produced in the Persian Gulf area blocked in the Middle East.
The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude oil plunged 17.7% to $92.92. Brent crude, the international standard, tumbled 16.1% to $91.68 per barrel. It had briefly topped $119 when worries about the war with Iran were at their highest.
The next moves for oil prices will likely depend on how many oil tankers can start exiting the Strait of Hormuz and how easy their passage is. Iran said the deal would allow it to formalize its new practice of charging ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial transit lane for oil, but the terms were not clear.
