Topline
U.S. stock futures ticked up while markets in Asia and Europe soared on Wednesday morning amid renewed optimism about the Iran war ending soon after President Donald Trump said American forces will withdraw from Iran in two to three weeks.
Markets in Asia and Europe soared amid optimism about the war ending soon.
AFP via Getty ImagesKey Facts
In early trading on Wednesday, the Dow Futures index rose 0.43% to 46,780 points, while the benchmark S&P 500 Futures rose 0.5% to 6,604 points—continuing a rally that saw both indexes rise 2.5% on Tuesday.
The tech-centric Nasdaq futures climbed to 24,092.50 points, up 0.75% from Tuesday’s close.
Markets in Asia also surged over optimism about a potential de-escalation in the conflict, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 surging 5.24%, while South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 8.44%.
Other key market indices in Asia, like Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and India’s Sensex, rose 1.91% and 2.27%, respectively.
European markets also climbed sharply, with the pan-European STOXX Europe 50 rising 2%, while the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE 100 rose 1.3%.
What About Oil Prices?
Hopes of a quick resolution to the war have also had a major impact on oil prices, with the global benchmark Brent Crude Index briefly slipping below $100 per barrel. Brent Crude Futures contracts for the month of June were at $101.67 per barrel at the time of publishing. The contracts for May, which have now expired, had risen to nearly $120 per barrel on Tuesday as Iran continued striking tankers and ships in the Persian Gulf.
What Did Trump Say About Pulling U.s. Troops?
On Tuesday, Trump told reporters at the Oval Office that the U.S. is “finishing the job” in Iran and he expects to withdraw troops from the conflict “within two weeks, maybe three.” Despite insisting on Sunday that he had effectively carried out a regime change in Tehran, Trump on Tuesday denied that this was one of his goals, saying, “I had one goal—they will have no nuclear weapon and that goal has been attained.” It is unclear how the president has come to this conclusion, as earlier this week, he said one of the demands of his peace proposal was that Tehran must give up its enriched uranium, which he referred to as “nuclear dust.” In the past few days, Trump has swung between threatening to destroy Iran’s energy infrastructure and oil fields and suggesting that peace talks were ongoing.
What Have The Iranians Said?
Iran on the other hand has largely dismissed suggestions of any direct talks between the two sides and has continued to maintain its effective blockage on ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz—which carries 20% of the world’s oil. However, on Tuesday, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said his country has the “necessary will” to end the war if it received security guarantees that would prevent a repeat. In response to Trump’s comments about the war ending in 2-3 weeks, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told state media that the country’s military will continue to defend its territory as they believe the U.S. ““isn’t serious about diplomacy.”
Further Reading
Trump: U.S. Military Will Withdraw From Iran In ‘2 Weeks, Maybe 3’ (Forbes)