Oil falls, US equity soar as White House calls for two-week ceasefire
Oil falls, US equity soar as White House calls for two-week ceasefire
Jake ConleyTue, April 7, 2026 at 11:00 PM UTC
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Oil futures fell and US futures jumped in evening trading as President Trump suspends what could have been a wide-ranging bombing campaign on Iran.
"I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks," Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social. Tuesday evening, roughly an hour and a half ahead of his 8 p.m. ET deadline, "This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE! The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East."
Futures on Brent crude (BZ=F), the international benchmark, dropped 8% to trade around $100, while those on US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CL=F) fell 7% to trade above $104.
At the same time, futures on the S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) jumped 1.5%, while contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) skyrocketed nearly 700 points.
While the two-week ceasefire is underway, the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world's oil supply passes through, is still the point of contention.
"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," Trump wrote.
He added that the US received a "10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate" bringing this long-term problem "close to resolution."
This comes after President Trump's post to Truth Social Tuesday morning, where he wrote, "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will."
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The President also wrote, in what some took as an opening for potential negotiations preempting the strikes, "Now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?"
Prior to this evening, Iran's leadership on Tuesday took itself out of negotiation talks and was unwilling to discuss a temporary ceasefire, The New York Times reported, looking only for a full end to the war and the payment of reparations for damage among other conditions.
While the US and Israeli militaries have struck a large range of primarily military and energy infrastructure targets within Iran through the course of the war, the US has so far refrained from striking domestic power plants, bridges, and desalination plants that provide critical services to noncombatant civilians within the country.
An excavator removes rubble at the site of a strike that, according to a security official at the scene, destroyed half of the Khorasaniha Synagogue and nearby residential buildings in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) ()
As investors waited with bated breath, Trump pressed the Tuesday night deadline he imposed for Iran to make a deal in posts throughout the weekend and at the Monday press conference.
"After that, they’re going to have no bridges, they’re going to have no power plants — Stone Ages,” Trump said during Monday’s press conference.
In comments overnight, Iran reportedly said it would no longer hold back from widespread attacks against infrastructure throughout the Gulf if the US were to begin its threatened bombing campaign. An X account close to the regime released a video on Tuesday threatening strikes on the Stargate project site in the UAE, which is being jointly developed by OpenAI, Nvidia, and Oracle, among other companies.
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Jake Conley is a breaking news reporter covering US equities for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X at @byjakeconley or email him at jake.conley@yahooinc.com.
Source: “AOL Money”
