[New York Stock Exchange] Uncertainty Over Peace Talks Drives Oil Up... Nasdaq Plunges 2.38%

All Three Major Indexes Close Lower
Brent Crude Surpasses $108
After Market Close, Trump Says "Talks Are Going Well"
"Attack on Iran Postponed Until April 6"

Wednesday, March 25, 2026 (local time), view of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Photo by AP News Agency

As the United States and Iran continued to show differences in their positions regarding the ceasefire negotiations, increasing uncertainty, international oil prices surged and all three major U.S. stock indexes closed sharply lower on March 26, 2026 (local time). After the market closed, U.S. President Donald Trump announced via social media that he would postpone an attack on Iran until April 6, 2026.

On this day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 45,960.11, down 469.38 points (1.01%) from the previous trading day. The large-cap-focused S&P 500 index dropped 114.74 points (1.74%) to close at 6,477.16, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index plunged 521.744 points (2.38%) to finish at 21,408.081.

U.S. stocks exhibited high volatility as hopes for a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran faded. The S&P 500 index widened its losses after President Trump remarked that "seizing control of Iran's oil" was one of the options on the table.

Iran has stated that it cannot accept the agreement proposed by the United States. Iran officially announced that it had sent a written response to the U.S. via a mediator regarding the agreement, which included demands such as a halt to U.S.-led 'assassination operations' targeting Iranian leadership.

Although President Trump set a deadline for ceasefire negotiations by the end of this week, a continued stalemate led to skepticism in the markets, dragging down the indexes. Matt Maley of Miller Tabak commented, "Any progress made in talks between the United States and Iran seems, at best, to be highly uncertain."

Against this backdrop, May Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, surged by $5.79 (5.66%) from the previous session to $108.01 per barrel, marking another significant jump. May West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose by $4.16 (4.61%) to close at $94.48 per barrel.

Oil and energy stocks closed higher across the board. ExxonMobil gained 1.16%, Chevron rose 1.10%, Occidental Petroleum climbed 3.53%, Diamondback Energy advanced 3.20%, and APA Corporation ended up 3.82%.

In particular, Brent crude has soared nearly 50% in just one month, which is expected to shock the global economy. This is due to the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has reduced daily oil output by several million barrels and driven up prices of petroleum products ranging from diesel to jet fuel.

Adam Turnquist of LPL Financial analyzed, "The Iran war and the resulting spike in oil prices are dampening investor sentiment," adding, "For a sustainable market recovery, meaningful progress toward both a peace agreement and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is necessary."

Tech stocks, with the exception of Apple (up 0.71%), fell across the board. Nvidia dropped 3.46%, Microsoft (MS) fell 1.34%, Amazon declined 1.75%, Alphabet lost 3.10%, and Meta plunged 7.68%.

Meanwhile, after the market closed, President Trump posted on Truth Social, "At Iran's request, the destruction of Iran's energy facilities will be suspended for 10 days. The action is postponed until April 6, 2026, at 8 p.m."

On March 23, 2026, President Trump said that ceasefire negotiations with Iran were underway and that attacks on Iran's energy facilities would be put on hold for five days. The day before the deadline, he strongly pressured Iran by hinting at military operations in the morning, but in the afternoon he stated that negotiations were progressing well and extended the attack suspension period.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.