Daily Market Report – March 23, 2026
Today's trading was dominated by a news item: U.S. President Donald Trump initially stated on Truth Social and later before reporters that there had been "productive talks" with Iran over the weekend, that there were already "major points of agreement," and that he had therefore instructed the Pentagon to suspend attacks on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days. Tehran immediately rejected this: According to sources within the Iranian leadership, there had been neither direct nor indirect talks with Washington; additionally, the Iranian parliament accused Trump of spreading "fake news" to influence the oil market. At the same time, the tone remained sharp: The Revolutionary Guards threatened retaliation against Israeli power plants and regional facilities in the event of a U.S. attack. A sense of unease lingers, as it is difficult to determine who is telling the truth.
However, the postponement of a U.S. attack already triggered a sharp upward movement in the stock markets. The S&P 500 (SP:SPX) rose by 1.15 percent to 6,581 points, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ:IXIC) gained 1.38 percent to 21,947 points. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 (INDEX:STOXX) turned positive after initial losses, closing 0.6 percent higher; the DAX (XETR:DAX) finished trading about 1.2 percent stronger at 22,654 points. Characteristically, the market mechanics showed that travel and cyclical stocks recovered while energy stocks declined.
The most noticeable relaxation was seen in commodities and currencies. Brent (TVC:UKOIL) fell by 10.9 percent to $99.94 per barrel, WTI (TVC:USOIL) lost 10.3 percent to $88.13; at one point, the declines were even larger before Iran's denial and new attacks on Israel somewhat reversed part of the calming effect. The Dollar Index (TVC:DXY) decreased by 0.4 percent to 99.08, while the Euro against the Dollar (FX_IDC:EURUSD) rose to 1.1616 and the Yen (FX_IDC:USDJPY) appreciated against the Dollar to 158.30; at the same time, U.S. yields eased slightly from their multi-month highs. Gold (TVC:GOLD) remained weak despite the geopolitical situation, closing 1.8 percent lower at $4,407 per ounce. The message of the day is thus sober: It was not relaxation that was priced in, but a lower probability for an immediate attack on Iranian energy facilities — and that is precisely why oil and the dollar fell while stocks rose.