U.S.-Iran Peace Plan Reports May Lead To Initial Strength On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside following the pullback seen in the previous session.

The pullback by the price of crude oil comes after a report from the New York Times said the U.S. has sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war in the Middle East.

Citing two officials briefed on the diplomacy, the New York Times said the plan, delivered by way of Pakistan, said it addresses Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

The New York Times acknowledged it is unclear whether Iran was likely to accept the plan as a basis for negotiations but argued the delivery of the plan showed the administration is ramping up efforts to conclude the war.

As diplomatic efforts gather pace, Iran has told the United Nations Security Council and the International Maritime Organization that “non-hostile vessels” may transit the Strait of Hormuz with Tehran’s consent.

Following the recovery rally seen during Monday’s session, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Tuesday. The major averages fluctuated over the course of the session before eventually closing in negative territory.

The Nasdaq slid 184.87 points or 0.8 percent to 21,761.89, the S&P 500 fell 24.63 points or 0.4 percent to 6,556.37 and the Dow dipped 84.41 points or 0.2 percent to 46,124.06.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came amid a rebound by the price of crude oil, with international benchmark Brent crude futures surging back above $100 a barrel.

Brent crude futures plunged by nearly 11 percent during Monday’s trading after President Donald Trump claimed the U.S. and Iran held productive talks to end the conflict in the Middle East.

Oil has rebounded as Israel and Iran have continued to exchange strikes, with huge explosions heard in Tehran and other cities, as Iran denied it held talks with the U.S. to end the war.

“Iranian people demand complete and remorseful punishment of the aggressors,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote in response to Trump’s comments.

He claimed Trump’s latest rhetoric “is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the U.S. and Israel are trapped.”

Iran’s foreign ministry said Trump’s remarks were “part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time” for military plans.

As the conflict entered its 25th day with no immediate signs of de-escalation, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are edging toward joining the fight against Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Despite the pullback by the broader markets, energy stocks saw substantial strength amid the rebound by the price of crude oil.

Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Oil Index surged by 2.6 percent, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index advanced by 1.8 percent and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index climbed by 1.7 percent.

Networking stocks also saw continued strength after rallying on Monday, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 1.9 percent.

On the other hand, software stocks showed a significant move to the downside, dragging the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index down by 3.5 percent to its lowest closing level in a month.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are plunging $3.43 to $88.92 a barrel after soaring $4.22 to $92.35 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $4,541.70, up $139.70 compared to the previous session’s close of $4,402. On Tuesday, gold dipped $5.30.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 159.06 yen compared to the 158.68 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1589 compared to yesterday’s $1.1607.

Asia

Asian stocks rallied on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. and Iran were “in negotiations right now” and they “want to make a deal so badly.”

While Tehran dismissed the U.S. president’s claim of talks, a slew of media reports suggested that efforts towards a diplomatic solution have intensified. Oil prices fell nearly 4 percent in Asian trading in anticipation of a de-escalation of the Middle East war.

As diplomatic efforts gather pace, Iran has told the United Nations Security Council and the International Maritime Organization that “non-hostile vessels” may transit the Strait of Hormuz with Tehran’s consent.

Gold jumped nearly 2 percent to $4,560 an ounce as the dollar weakened and bond yields declined on easing Middle East tensions.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.30 percent to 3,931.84 after state media highlighted a sharp increase in domestic AI model adoption and a surge in token usage they generate.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 1.09 percent to 25,335.95. Shares of delivery platform Meituan jumped almost 14 percent after authorities urged the industry to end a bleeding war.

Japanese markets rallied and the yen softened as Bank of Japan (BoJ) board members shared their views on the monetary policy outlook.

As per the BoJ Minutes of the January meeting, many board members saw the need to keep raising interest rates to address mounting inflationary pressures and the weak yen’s impact on prices.

The Nikkei average soared 2.87 percent to 53,749.62 while the broader Topix Index settled 2.57 percent higher at 3,650.99.

Seoul stocks rose sharply as optimism grew over Washington’s efforts to end the nearly month-long battle in the Middle East. The Kospi Index surged 1.59 percent to 5,642.21, led by defense stocks.

Hanwha Aerospace rose 4.9 percent, Hyundai Rotem added 7.2 percent and LIG Nex1 soared 14.5 percent.

Australian markets logged their biggest single-day gain since February 9 after the annual inflation rate eased slightly in February.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 1.85 percent to 8,534.30, led by strong gains in the materials sector. The broader All Ordinaries Index closed up 2.03 percent at 8,745.30.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index surged 1.79 percent to 12,929.30, snapping a four-session losing streak.

Europe

European stocks traded higher on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. and Iran were “in negotiations right now” and they “want to make a deal so badly.”

While Tehran dismissed the U.S. president’s claim of talks, a slew of media reports suggested that efforts towards a diplomatic solution have intensified.

The British pound remained under pressure against the dollar after data showed U.K. consumer price inflation remained unchanged at 3.0 percent in February, as expected.

The German DAX Index is up by 1.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 1.0 percent.

Airline stocks traded higher, with Lufthansa gaining 1.6 percent and Air France KLM surging 3.3 percent as oil prices fell nearly 4 percent in anticipation of a de-escalation of the Middle East war.

Orange SA shares fell over 1 percent. The French telecom company said that it has inked a deal with Verdoso with a view to a potential divestment of Globecast, a media services business of Orange.

Tubular solutions firm Vallourec surged 4 percent after it secured five contracts for oil country tubular goods (OCTG) products to be delivered in Indonesia.

Jenoptik soared 8 percent. After reporting weaker full-year results for 2025, the German photonics and semiconductor equipment maker said it expects both an increase in revenue and an improvement in the EBITDA margin in fiscal 2026.

Shares of United Utilities rallied 3 percent in London. The water utility issued a pre-close update ahead of its full-year results for the year ending March 31, 2026, indicating that performance remains in line with expectations.

U.S. Economic News

Partly reflecting a significant rebound in prices for fuel imports, the Labor Department released a report on Wednesday showing U.S. import prices increased by much more than expected in the month of February.

The Labor Department said import prices jumped by 1.3 percent in February after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.6 percent in January.

Economists had expected import prices to rise by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.2 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

The report said export prices also surged by 1.5 percent in February following an unrevised 0.6 percent increase in January. Export prices were expected to grow by 0.5 percent.

At 10:30 am ET, the Energy Information Administration is due to release its report on oil inventories in the week ended March 20th. Crude oil inventories are expected to decrease by 1.4 million barrels.

The Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month’s auction of $70 billion worth of five-year notes at 1 pm ET.

At 4:10 pm ET, Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran is due to participate in a conversation before the Digital Asset Summit 2026.