Stocks rose and oil prices fell on Monday after President Trump indicated that the war with Iran was nearing its end.
Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, had climbed above $110 in international markets on Monday and stock futures indicated U.S. indexes would decline as much as two percent. But by the close of trading on Monday, the major U.S. indexes were up for the day and oil had plunged to below $90 a barrel.
Within hours of the opening of cash markets for stocks in New York, stocks were paring back their losses, and oil had sunk to around $102 a barrel. Comments from France’s finance minister indicating that the Group of Seven economies were prepared to release strategic oil reserves to stabilize the global market appeared to ease concerns over the supply of Persian Gulf oil. After CBS News reported that President Trump said the war with Iran was “very far ahead of schedule” and “very complete, pretty much,” the shift intensified.
Brent crude fell to around $87 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate fell to around $83 a barrel.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 340 points, or 0.5 percent, by the time socialite Paris Hilton rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent. The Nasdaq Composite surged 1.4 percent. Nine of the eleven sectors of the S&P were in positive territory, with only energy and financials down. Technology and communications were the best-performing sector, a sign that investors were becoming less nervous about the short and medium-term prospects for the economy and corporate earnings.
Treasury yields declined for the day, with the 10-year trading down to 4.096 percent. Earlier, yields had been as high as 4.175 percent.
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