Dow soars over 950 points after Trump suggests US may end Iran war without reopening Strait of Hormuz
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media onboard Air Force One on March 29, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 950 points on Tuesday after President Donald Trump appeared to suggest the U.S. may end the Iran war without reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on social media, Trump indicated that the task of reopening the strait may fall to other countries, urging them to “go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.”
The Dow jumped 970 points, or 2.1%, by early afternoon, while the S&P 500 climbed 2.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 3.4%.
Since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on Feb. 28, Trump has voiced mixed messages about the expected duration of the war. On several occasions, markets have climbed after traders interpreted comments from Trump as a potential off-ramp from the Middle East conflict.
The war prompted Iranian closure of the strait, a maritime trading route that facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of the global oil supply. A potential U.S. exit from the war without ensuring that the strait is open could leave uncertain the path to a resumption of normal tanker traffic and a resulting remedy for the current global oil shortage.
Global oil prices surged more than 5% on Tuesday, exceeding $118 a barrel, just shy of its highest price since 2022.
Gas prices in the United States topped $4 per gallon on average Tuesday, underscoring the link between rising oil prices and strained consumers.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
A for sale sign is seen in front of a house in a Spring Branch neighborhood in Houston, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Mortgage rates this week fell to their lowest level in 15 months, easing borrowing costs for homebuyers eager for a thaw in the housing market in 2026.
The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at 6.15%, plummeting from a level of 6.89% in May, data from financial services company Freddie Mac showed. Last January, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate exceeded 7%.
Each percentage point decrease in a mortgage rate can save thousands or tens of thousands in additional cost each year, depending on the price of the house, according to lender Rocket Mortgage.
Sam Khater, the chief economist at Freddie Mac, called the drop in mortgage rates an “encouraging sign for potential homebuyers heading into the new year.”
Mortgage rates closely track the yield on a 10-year Treasury bond, or the amount paid to a bondholder annually. Bond yields are shaped in part by expectations of the benchmark interest rate set by the Federal Reserve.
The sharp drop in mortgage rates over the latter half of 2025 owed in part to data showing a slowdown in hiring, which heightened expectations that the Fed would slash interest rates in an effort to boost the ailing labor market.
Starting in September, the Fed cut interest rates at three consecutive meetings, bringing the benchmark rate to a level between 3.5% and 3.75%. That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After the Fed’s most recent rate cut in December, Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggested the central bank may be cautious about further rate reductions.
“We’re well positioned to wait and see how the economy evolves,” Powell said.
The housing market is suffering from a phenomenon known as the “lock in” effect, some experts previously told ABC News.
While mortgage rates have fallen, they remain well above the rates enjoyed by most current homeowners, who may be reluctant to put their homes on the market and risk a much higher rate on their next mortgage.
In turn, the market could continue to suffer from a lack of supply, making options limited and prices sticky.
Mixed results in recent economic data have clouded the outlook for the economy — and in turn, interest rates.
A jobs report released two weeks ago showed sluggish hiring and an uptick in the unemployment rate. Unemployment remains low by historical standards but has inched up to its highest level in years.
Days later, a report on gross domestic product defied concerns stoked by the hiring slowdown. The U.S. economy grew at a robust annualized rate of 4.3% in the third quarter in the government’s initial estimate, marking an acceleration from 3.8% growth recorded in the previous quarter, U.S. Commerce Department data showed.
Futures markets expect two quarter-point interest rate cuts next year, forecasting the first in April and a second in the fall, according to CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
Redfin, a Seattle, Washington-based real estate giant, forecasts average 30-year fixed mortgage rates will remain in the low 6% range for most of 2026.
“Mortgage rates will continue their slow slide but remain high relative to the pandemic era,” Redfin said last month.
“Lingering inflation risk and the likelihood that we’ll avoid a recession will keep the Fed from cutting more than the markets have already priced in. That’s why rates may dip below 6% occasionally, but not for any meaningful period,” Redfin added.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference following the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting at the Federal Reserve on December 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Hiring ticked down in December, defying the Federal Reserve’s effort to boost hiring with a recent series of interest rate cuts, a jobs report on Friday showed. The reading fell short of economists’ expectations.
The U.S. added 50,000 jobs in December, which marked a slight drop from 64,000 jobs added in the previous month.
The unemployment rate dropped to 4.4% in December from 4.6% in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said. Unemployment remains low by historical standards but had ticked up from previous lows.
As in previous months, the healthcare sector accounted for the lion’s share of hiring in December, adding 21,000 jobs, according to the BLS. The food service and social assistance industries also contributed to the hiring figure.
In all, the economy added an average of 49,000 jobs each month in 2025, registering a significant slowdown from 168,000 jobs added per month in 2024, the BLS said.
The fresh data comes two weeks after a blockbuster report on economic growth appeared to rebuke worries about the wider economy prompted by the hiring cooldown.
The U.S. economy grew at a robust annualized rate of 4.3% in the third quarter in the government’s initial estimate, marking an acceleration from 3.8% growth recorded in the previous quarter, the U.S. Commerce Department said in December.
A boost in consumer spending helped propel the economic surge, the department added, suggesting that many consumers continued to open their wallets even as their attitudes worsened.
Meanwhile, inflation dropped in November, the most recent month for which data is available. The cooldown ended a monthslong acceleration of price increases and offered some relief for households strained by cost hikes.
Inflation remains well below a 2022 peak but stands nearly a percentage point above the Fed’s target of 2%.
The onset of elevated inflation alongside sluggish hiring has put the Fed in a difficult position.
The central bank must balance a dual mandate to keep inflation under control and maximize employment. To address pressure on both of its goals, the Fed primarily holds a single tool: interest rates.
Starting in September, the Fed cut interest rates at three consecutive meetings, opting to address the flagging labor market. The benchmark rate stands at a level between 3.5% and 3.75%.
That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Futures markets expect two quarter-point interest rate cuts this year, forecasting the first in April and a second in the fall, according to CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
After the Fed’s most recent rate cut in December, Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggested the central bank may be cautious about further rate reductions.
“We’re well positioned to wait and see how the economy evolves,” Powell said.
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. economy expanded more than economists expected over a recent three-month period, recording robust growth despite concerns about sluggish hiring and cash-strappped shoppers, federal government data on Tuesday showed.
The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 4.3% in the third quarter in the government’s initial estimate, marking an acceleration from 3.8% growth recorded in the previous quarter.
A boost in consumer spending helped propel the economic surge in gross domestic product (GDP) over three months ending in September, the U.S. Commerce Department said. Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, is a key bellwether for the outlook of the nation’s economy.
The GDP reading stemmed in part from a rise in exports and a drop-off in imports, which may have resulted from tariffs issued earlier this year by President Donald Trump.
The government’s GDP formula subtracts imports in an effort to exclude foreign production from the calculation of total goods and services.
The strong economic growth in the third quarter appeared to defy fears about the sluggish labor market, which some observers have viewed as a warning sign for the wider economy.
Hiring slowed sharply in recent months. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.6% in November from 4.4% in September. Unemployment remains low by historical standards but has inched up to its highest level since 2021.
Meanwhile, inflation has hovered nearly a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.
Those conditions have put the Fed in a bind, since the central bank must balance a dual mandate to keep inflation under control and maximize employment. To address pressure on both of its goals, the Fed primarily holds a single tool: interest rates.
Earlier this month, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate a quarter of a percentage point in an effort to boost hiring. The move amounted to the third rate cut this year, bringing the Fed’s benchmark rate to a level between 3.5% and 3.75%.
Interest rates have dropped significantly from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
