Oil prices soar, and stocks end mixed in volatile trade

Oil prices soar, and stocks end mixed in volatile trade

By Chris Prentice and Marc Jones

Thu April 2, 2026 8:18 PM  

Wall Street rallied like crazy the last two days almost entirely due to expectations that Trump would be announcing the end of the war last night. Then he did exactly the opposite, not only no end but at least a few more weeks of even more intense fighting. All the optimism faded and there was a huge crash right at open, the Dow coming down almost 700 points with the other indexes following suit. But it must have been the case come 10 a.m. that sentiment switched to business as usual as investors knew full well that it’s difficult to interpret Trump.  

Wall Street ends higher on speculation about end to Iran war

Wall Street ends higher on speculation about end to Iran war

By Noel Randewich and Purvi Agarwal

Wed April 1, 2026  

For a second straight day, optimism over an end to the war has sent stocks further up from yesterday’s huge rallies. Investors continue to choose to believe the Trump news or, as today’s expert put it, “We have Trump’s comments, which tend to change a bit. Everybody’s trying to guess as to what he really means by what he’s saying. The markets want it to be positive, they want the war to be over.” Today’s gains have lifted the S&P’s losses for the year to 4% vs yesterday’s 4.7%.  

Wall Street soars as traders bet on potential war off-ramp

Wall Street soars as traders bet on potential war off-ramp

By Noel Randewich and Purvi Agarwal

Tue March 31, 2026   

It must have been right around 12:30 pm that Trump told the Wall Street Journal that he was no longer holding the Strait of Hormuz as a condition for ending the war and Iranian media itself reported that the Iranian leader was now open to negotiation. For it was at that moment that all three indexes zoomed through the roof. The war has caused the biggest quarterly decline in four years and today saw the biggest one-day gain since last May.  

Wall Street indexes end mostly lower as investors weigh Middle East conflict outlook

Wall Street indexes end mostly lower as investors weigh Middle East conflict outlook

By Caroline Valetkevitch and Purvi Agarwal

Mon March 30, 2026

A lot of mixed signals brought the indexes down, except the Dow that was up nearly 500 before sliding to near breakeven. The Nasdaq was down about 250 by 3:30 before recovering about half of that in the final half hour. But mixed messages were on the one hand Trump proclaiming talks going well and on the other hand taking steps to widen the war. In other bad war news, Yemen has entered the conflict on the side of Iran.  

Stocks tumble, Dow confirms correction territory, as Middle East tensions drag

Stocks tumble, Dow confirms correction territory, as Middle East tensions drag

By Chuck Mikolajczak and Purvi Agarwal

Fri March 27, 2026  

It was another major drubbing. Usually a 1% 1-day drop is considered huge. Today the Nasdaq and Dow averaged a 2% 1-day drop, all indexes at their lowest in seven months and all three with 5 straight weeks of declines, the longest stretch in four years. The Dow today became the latest index to confirm a correction. And, per today’s expert, “I would view this as a big opportunity, but would not be surprised if we see a drawdown between 15 and 20% before it’s over.”  

Nasdaq confirms correction, Wall Street slumps on Middle East uncertainty

Nasdaq confirms correction, Wall Street slumps on Middle East uncertainty

By Sinéad Carew and Twesha Dikshit

Thu March 26, 2026  

The optimism lasted only a day. Iran has completely rejected the U.S. peace plan claiming it is completely slanted to U.S. advantage and Trump has resumed his threats of further attacks on the oil facilities. Thus, the price of oil spiked still more and all the indexes began a steady and continuing decline from 10 a.m. onwards. It was another bloodbath with major 3-digit losses all around and hopes for a near-term end of the war dashed, with nothing but uncertainty about the future of the conflict.  

Wall Street advances as investors bet on Mideast de-escalation

Wall Street advances as investors bet on Mideast de-escalation

By Sinéad Carew and Purvi Agarwal

Wed March 25, 2026

At last, some good news from Iranian officials who, though still refusing to enter into any talks, did acknowledge receipt of the 15-point proposal and confirmed that they were “under consideration.” This sparked some real optimism that there would be further negotiations and any hint that the war may be on its way to resolution shot all three indexes straight up right out the gate.