The Dow futures surged as much as 700 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures saw gains of 1.5% and 1.7% respectively as the futures market began trading after the close of the regular trading day.
“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks. This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
During the regular trading session, the Dow Jones recovered over 370 points from the lows of the day to end just below the flat line, while the S&P 500 saw an 80-point recovery. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also recovered 400 points from the lows. Both S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended above the flat line with modest gains.
The moves come ahead of US President Donald Trump’s 8 PM Eastern Time deadline for Tuesday, ahead of which, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif requested him for a two-week extension on social media platform “X” and correspondingly, also asked Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks as “a goodwill gesture.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump “has been made aware of the proposal, and a response will come.”
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump had earlier posted on Truth Social before Wall Street began trading on Tuesday.
As a result of these last ditch moves and emerging reports, the US crude oil prices have dropped as much as 4%, to slip below the $110 a barrel mark, having tested highs of $116.5 a barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude gave up all of its initial gains to end 0.5% lower at $109 a barrel.
Among other asset classes, while the US Dollar index has dropped 0.5%, Gold and Silver prices are seeing modest gains.
