S&P 500 futures rise after major averages post best session since May: Live updates – CNBC
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 27, 2026 in New York City.
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Stocks rose on Wednesday, while oil prices declined to start the month, as hope grew that an end to the U.S.-Iran war was on the horizon.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.72% and closed at 6,575.32, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.16% and settled at 21,840.95. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 224.23 points, or 0.48%, to end at 46,565.74.
President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social Wednesday morning that Iran’s president has asked the U.S. for a ceasefire. However, the U.S. will consider the offer when the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, and clear,” Trump added, writing that “until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”
This comes after the president told reporters at the White House late Tuesday that he expects the U.S. military forces will leave Iran in “two or three weeks.”
Oil prices eased following that comment. West Texas Intermediate futures settled down 1.24% to close at $100.12 per barrel and Brent crude futures lost 2.7% to settle at $101.16 a barrel.
“The market is kind of just sniffing out that there’s probably some type of resolution in the next couple of weeks,” said Patrick Ryan, chief investment strategist and head of multi-asset solutions at Madison Investments.
Optimism around a potential end to the war sent stocks soaring on Tuesday, the final trading day of March.
The moves came after an unconfirmed report said that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was open to ending the war with guarantees. He made similar remarks earlier in March, saying in an X post that the “only way to end this war … is recognizing Iran’s legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm int’l guarantees against future aggression.”
The market may not be out of the woods yet, to be sure. According to Ryan, unless there’s “some type of all-clear announcement,” trading should “remain volatile” in the short term.
Investors will get more clues on the path forward for the U.S.-Iran war Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET, with Trump set to deliver an address “to the nation to provide an important update.”
