U.S. stock indexes posted strong gains on Monday. By the close in New York, the Dow Industrial Average settled at 46 208 points, up 1.4 percent from the previous day. A few minutes earlier the broader S&P 500 was trading near 6 580 points, rising 1.2 percent, while the technology‑heavy Nasdaq 100 was at roughly 24 189 points, also up 1.2 percent.
Oil prices and the market broadly reacted sharply to President Donald Trump’s announcement that he had postponed the planned attacks on Iranian power plants. Trump said the delay resulted from productive talks with the Iranian regime, a claim that Tehran has denied.
At the same time, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol warned that the current crisis represents the “greatest threat to global energy security in history”. He described the unfolding situation as a combination of the two 1970s oil crises and the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The IEA has outlined ten measures aimed at rapidly cutting oil demand, including expanded work‑from‑home policies, lower speed limits, greater support for public transportation, and reduced business air travel.
On the currency front, the euro strengthened in the evening trading session: one euro bought 1.1613 U.S. dollars, meaning one dollar could be traded for 0.8611 euros.
Gold traded lower as well. By market close, a troy ounce fetched 4 403 USD, down 2.0 percent, which equates to 121.91 EUR per gram.
Meanwhile, the price of Brent crude dropped significantly. At about 21:00 German local time, a barrel of North Sea Brent was priced at 99.89 USD-12.30 USD per barrel-representing an 11.0 percent decline from the previous day’s closing level.