Stocks soar, oil prices fall on tentative agreement to end Iran war

Stocks rose on Monday after the U.S. and Iran reached a tentative deal to end hostilities, with oil prices falling ahead of the potential opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Futures for the S&P 500 were up more than 1.2 percent as of just after 9 a.m.

Nasdaq futures, meanwhile, were up nearly 2.1 percent. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up nearly 1.1 percent, continuing a monthslong surge that has resulted in the index reaching its highest point of the year.

Oil prices also fell in anticipation of the possible reopening of the Strait of the Hormuz. The Iranian military has restricted transit through the key waterway since the early days of the war with the U.S. and Israel, leading to a global energy shock.

The price of West Texas Intermediate Crude, the benchmark for North American markets, was down more than 5.1 percent to $80.49 as of just after 9:30 a.m. ET. Brent Crude, the benchmark for global markets, was down more than 4.7 percent to $83.21.

President Trump, who is on the way to a Group of 7 meeting in France, said Monday that ships “are starting to move, many loaded up with Oil” out of the strait.

“They are going along the Southern ‘Highway,’ which is totally safe, secure, and pristine,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “There are other areas of travel, also!!!”

But just two ships are actively transiting the waterway, according to hormuzstraitmonitor.com. That is down significantly from the typical daily activity of 60 vessels.

Trump announced the deal on Sunday, writing on Truth Social that the U.S. would end its naval blockade of Iranian ports in exchange for Tehran ending its restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz.

The agreement also reportedly calls for the U.S. to release $25 billion in frozen Iranian assets, and for Iran to neither produce nor acquire nuclear weapons. The deal also sets up future negotiations over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear deal.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has mediated talks between Washington and Tehran, said Sunday that an official signing ceremony will take place on Friday in Switzerland.

“I think we’re still figuring out the logistics of who’s going to attend that signing ceremony,” Vice President Vance told Trey Yingst of Fox News. “I certainly plan to be there, but it’s possible the president himself could be there.”

But while Iranian officials have said that the agreement applies to Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon against Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group, Israeli officials have stated otherwise since the deal was announced.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz in a Monday statement said his country would not withdraw from security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.

“The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will continue to defend our borders and our citizens from the peak of Mount Hermon, the mountains of Lebanon, the areas of our land in the Samaria region, and most of the territory of Gaza — against the threats posed by jihadist forces and organizations, as a central lesson from the events of October 7,” Katz wrote.