Stocks tumble and oil prices rise as US-Iran ceasefire uncertain before deadline
Stock Market Wall Street (Matteo Colombo/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Stocks dipped and oil prices rose in early trading on Monday as tensions mounted in the Strait of Hormuz, putting pressure on the ceasefire between the U.S and Iran a day before it’s set to expire.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25 points, or 0.07%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.1%.
U.S. Marines seized an Iran-flagged container ship in the Gulf of Oman on Sunday, according to CENTOM, just a day after two Indian ships came under fire in the Strait of Hormuz.
A potential second round of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran remained in doubt on Monday. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday that Iran has not yet made any decision regarding additional talks.
West Texas Intermediate futures, the benchmark index for U.S. oil prices, climbed more than 4% on Monday, registering at about $87 a barrel.
The escalating tensions appeared to reverse a brief thaw on Friday, when a senior Iranian official declared the strait “completely open” for tanker traffic. Within minutes, President Donald Trump celebrated the announcement as a major breakthrough.
The glimmer of relief for the critical waterway sent stock prices soaring and oil prices plummeting on Friday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
An ATACM long-range missile is fired towards Iran from an undisclosed location, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Central Command)
(NEW YORK) — Stocks slid on Monday morning in the first trading session after the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran over the weekend.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 280 points, or 0.5%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.5%.
The strikes early Saturday morning prompted Iranian drone attacks and missile fire targeting U.S. military bases and Gulf countries. Tit-for-tat strikes rapidly widened into a regional war.
Four U.S. service members have been killed in action, U.S. Central Command said on Monday. At least 555 people have been killed in the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said.
Oil prices spiked on Monday amid fears of a prolonged disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, a trading route that facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of global oil supply. Iran asserts control over the passage of tankers through the strait.
Brent crude prices soared more than 7%, threatening to push up prices for auto fuel and hike transport costs for other goods.
An array of global stock exchanges suffered marked losses on Monday.
In Europe, the pan-continental STOXX 600 index tumbled 1.6%. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index slipped 1.3%, while South Korea’s KOSPI dropped 1%.
Angelo Kourkafas, a senior global strategist for investment strategy at Edward Jones, on Monday acknowledged the volatility in markets but downplayed the long-term risk.
“While the situation remains dynamic, both historical patterns and market fundamentals offer some reassurance,” Kourkafas said in a statement to ABC News. “Geopolitical flare ups can create short term volatility, but recent episodes have produced limited and short lived market impacts.”
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), a measure of anticipated market volatility, climbed more than 7% on Monday.
President Donald Trump announced “major combat operations” against Iran on Saturday, with daytime strikes in the joint U.S.-Israel attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.
On Sunday, Iranian state television confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed by airstrikes in Tehran on Saturday.
Iran is responding to the U.S.-Israeli operation with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and Gulf nations.
Israel is also intensifying its long-running strike campaign in Lebanon following fresh attacks by the Iranian-aligned Hezbollah militia.
In remarks on Monday, Iranian and American officials signaled expectations of an extended conflict.
The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, said that Iran is prepared for a long war.
“Iran, unlike the United States, has prepared itself for a long war,” Larijani wrote in a post on X on Monday. He added that Iranian armed forces “have not engaged in any attacks except in defense.”
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not specify a timeline, but said, “This is not a single overnight operation. The military objectives … will take some time to achieve.”
A ”For Sale” sign is outside a residential home in Oro Valley, Ariz., Dec.12, 2025. (Michael Yanow/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Mortgage rates have climbed to their highest level since September as fallout from the Iran war ripples through financial markets, Freddie Mac data on Thursday showed.
The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 6.46%, continuing a weeks-long surge since the war began on Feb. 28, during which time mortgage rates have increased nearly half a percentage point.
Mortgage rates remain slightly lower than this time a year ago, when the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage stood at 6.64%.
The recent spike in borrowing costs risks further strain on U.S. households as they weather elevated gasoline prices.
The rise in mortgage rates owes to a jump in U.S. Treasury yields as investors fear a bout of inflation in response to the Middle East conflict.
High bond yields make borrowing more expensive for average Americans, since 10-year Treasury rates influence the rates offered for a variety of loans, including mortgages and credit cards.
Since bonds pay a given investor a fixed amount each year, the specter of inflation risks higher consumer prices that would eat away at those annual payouts. In turn, bonds often become less attractive in response to economic turmoil. When demand falls, bond yields rise.
The yield on a 10-year Treasury bond, meaning the amount paid to a bondholder annually, stands at about 4.31%, about 0.35 percentage points higher than pre-war levels.
“Mortgage rates have risen as bond market yields have sought to price in the risk of higher inflation in the future,” Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, previously told ABC News.
Last week, bond yields soared close to levels reached in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs in April 2025, when the 10-year Treasury yield peaked at around 4.5%.
Bond yields eased in recent days as Trump signaled a possible off-ramp from the war with Iran.
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.
