Stocks rise after Trump announces pause on Iran energy strikes

Stocks rebounded Monday morning after President Trump announced a five-day pause of airstrikes on Iranian energy infrastructure and negotiations toward a “complete and total” end to the conflict.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened with a gain of more than 800 points Monday, rising 1.7 percent as the market opened. The S&P 500 index was up 1.5 percent and the Nasdaq composite was up 1.8 percent after the opening bell.

After starting Monday morning deeply in the red, stock futures swung sharply higher before the market opened in response to Trump’s announcement.

Oil prices also dropped on hopes of a breakthrough between the U.S. and Iran, with American Brent crude falling more than $7 to $90 per barrel and international Brent crude fell $9 to $102 per barrel.

In a Monday morning Truth Social post, Trump wrote in all-caps that the U.S. and Iran “over the last two days” have had “conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.

“Based on the tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed and constructive conversations,” which he said would carry on “throughout the week,” the president has “instructed the Department of War to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five day period,” he wrote.

After nearly a month of joint U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran, the president and Republicans are facing rising pressure to end the conflict and economic blowback facing voters ahead of the midterm elections in November.

Gas prices have skyrockets since the outbreak of the Iran conflict, with the average price of a regular gallon of gas hitting $3.96 as of Monday morning, according to AAA, up from $2.93 one month ago.