The U.S. stock markets gained strongly on Monday. At the close of New York trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average settled at 46,208 points, up 1.4 percent from the previous day. A few minutes earlier, the broader S&P 500 had risen to around 6,580 points, also up 1.2 percent, while the tech‑heavy Nasdaq 100 was near 24,189 points, again higher by 1.2 percent.
Oil prices and the broader U.S. equities responded sharply to a statement from President Donald Trump, who announced that he had postponed the threatened attacks on Iranian power plants. Trump said the postponement was due to “productive talks” with the Iranian regime, a claim that Tehran has denied.
Meanwhile, International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol warned that the current crisis represents the greatest threat to global energy security in history. He compared its combined impact to the oil shocks of the 1970s and the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The IEA has outlined ten measures aimed at rapidly cutting oil demand, including encouraging home‑office work, lowering speed limits, expanding public transport, and reducing aviation travel for business purposes.
The euro strengthened against the dollar by Monday evening, with one euro worth 1.1613 U.S. dollars and one dollar trading at 0.8611 euros.
Gold took a notable step down. By evening, a fine ounce was priced at 4,403 U.S. dollars, a decline of 2.0 percent, which translates to 121.91 euros per gram.
Brent crude also fell sharply in the late North Sea session. Around 21:00 German time (the equivalent of 15:00 GMT), a barrel of Brent was priced at approximately 99.89 U.S. dollars-about 11.0 percent lower than the previous day’s closing price.
