US stocks rose Wednesday morning after President Trump said the US will exit Iran in a few weeks – extending gains from the previous day as investors hoped de-escalation in the Middle East would stabilize oil prices fast.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had jumped 203 points, or 0.4%, as of about 9:45 a.m. ET, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 0.5% and 0.8%, respectively, after Trump told reporters in the Oval Office late Tuesday that the US will exit Iran in two to three weeks.
Brent crude oil eased 2.1% to $101.74 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate dipped 1.2% to $100.15.
Trump vowed that Operation Epic Fury would only end when the US feels Iran has been “put into the Stone Ages,” but said that a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz – a critical waterway for 20% of the world’s oil – is not necessary.
He asserted the US has attained its goal of ensuring Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, and that the reopening of the strait is a problem for other countries that rely more directly on the crude transported through the chokepoint.
Earlier Tuesday, he told The Post in a phone interview, “We’re not going to be there too much longer. We’re obliterating the s–t out of them right now.”
Meanwhile, data released by payrolls processing company ADP on Wednesday morning showed private-sector payrolls grew by 62,000 in March after a similar increase the previous month – signaling the labor market might be stabilizing after sharp swings earlier in the year.
The government’s official jobs report is slated for release Friday morning.
Last week, the Dow and Nasdaq each ended 10% below their all-time highs, confirming they were both in correction territory.
The indexes finished the month and quarter in the red. But Tuesday marked the Dow and Nasdaq’s best trading session since last May.
