Stocks, oil on roller coasters as Trump, Iran conflicting reports

U.S. stocks were set to surge at the opening bell Monday, after President Donald Trump announced that he was postponing all military strikes on Iranian power plants for a 5-day period.

Iranian state media responded to Trump’s post by saying the U.S. president has “backed down” after Iran’s firm response.

Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency also relayed a message from the nation’s foreign ministry that, “there is no dialogue between Tehran and Washington.”

S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures initially soared about 3% on Trump’s post, but those gains faded to about 1.6% after the statements from Iranian media.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures also rose as many as 1,300 points immediately after Trump’s statement, before pulling back to about 500 points. Russell 2000 futures rose 3%.

Oil prices also fell about 5%, with U.S. crude oil trading down to around $92 per barrel around 8:15 a.m. ET. International Brent crude oil fell to around $105 per barrel. Initially, oil prices had plummeted 10% on Trump’s post.

Nonetheless, crude oil prices have risen nearly 40% since the war began on Feb. 28, and 60% since the start of the year.

Trump’s Monday announcement on social media came after the president on Saturday said that he had given the regime 48 hours to “fully open, without threat, the Strait of Hormuz.” That 48 hours was set to end Monday night.

U.S. natural gas prices dropped 4%, European natural gas futures slid 9% and heating oil prices dropped 3%. Heating oil futures can also be a proxy for the price of jet fuel.

U.S. Treasury bonds also rose at first, and yields which guide borrowing rates for consumers dropped after posting big moves higher on Thursday and Friday on rising inflation fears stemming from soaring energy prices. Yields were largely unchanged after the Iranian media statements though.