Stock market today: Live updates
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 31, 2026 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Stocks rose on Wednesday, while oil prices declined to start the month, as hope grew that an end to the U.S.-Iran war was on the horizon.
The S&P 500 was up 1%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 421 points, or 0.9%.
President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social Wednesday morning that Iran’s president has asked the U.S. for a ceasefire. However, the U.S. will consider the offer when the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, and clear,” Trump added, writing that “until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”
This comes after the president told reporters at the White House late Tuesday that he expects the U.S. military forces will leave Iran in “two or three weeks.”
Oil prices eased following that comment. They were last trading around $100, with West Texas Intermediate futures shedding 2% to above $98 per barrel and Brent crude futures slipping 2% to above $101 a barrel.
Optimism around a potential end to the war sent stocks soaring on Tuesday, the final trading day of March.
The moves came after an unconfirmed report said that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was open to ending the war with guarantees. He made similar remarks earlier this month, saying in an X post that the “only way to end this war … is recognizing Iran’s legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm int’l guarantees against future aggression.”
Not all investors are convinced that the rally has legs.
Karen Finerman, co-founder and CEO of Metropolitan Capital Advisors, noted that oil prices remain elevated, perhaps hinting at lingering uncertainty. Brent crude futures for May delivery settled about 5% higher at $118.35 per barrel on Tuesday, posting its highest close since June 16, 2022.
“I’m sort of leaning towards the oil is telling the truth of the situation. I think a lot of what happened here — oversold, for sure — but I got to think a lot of this is window dressing. We are at the end of a really difficult quarter, and so that’ll help a little bit, but I don’t know that that’s something that has follow-through,” she said on CNBC’s “Fast Money” on Tuesday afternoon.
Investors will get more clues on the path forward for the U.S.-Iran war Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET, with Trump set to deliver an address “to the nation to provide an important update.”
