With hopes for an end to the Iran war reviving, the three major U.S. stock indexes in New York surged.
On the 31st (local time) in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 46,341.21, up 1,125.07 points (2.49%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index ended at 6,528.52, up 184.80 points (2.91%), and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed at 21,590.63, up 795.99 points (3.83%), respectively.
This reflected expectations that the Iran war could end soon and marked the biggest one-day gain since May last year. For March, the S&P fell 5.1%, its worst performance since 2022.
That day, U.S. President Donald Trump said the timing of the war's end was "very soon," adding the United States would "withdraw within 2–3 weeks." A day earlier, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Trump was willing to end the Iran war without reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
However, in the morning, Minister Pete Hegseth of the Ministry of National Defense (War Department) warned that "the next few days will be decisive," adding that "if Iran does not agree, stronger strikes will follow," trimming some of the intraday gains.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, "We have never sought tension or war," adding, "If certain conditions are met, we will have the necessary will to end this war."
Accordingly, international oil prices gave back part of their gains.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May delivery settled at $101.38, down 1.46% from the previous session.
However, Brent crude, the international benchmark, for May delivery finished trading at $118.35 per barrel, up 4.94% from the previous session, the highest since June 16, 2022.
Michael Bailey of FBB Capital Partners said, "The market has taken a big hit for more than a month," adding, "Expectations have dropped so low that even a small hope can now be valued much more."