Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq surge after Trump indicates flexibility on Hormuz, says war won’t last ‘much longer’

Consumer confidence ticked up in March, rising over the earlier month and outperforming economists’ expectations, in response to knowledge launched by the Conference Board on Tuesday.

The Conference Board’s shopper confidence gauge rose to 91.8 from 91.2 the earlier month, towards expectations of 87.9. The studying on the current scenario additionally rose month over month to 123.3 from 120, outperforming economist expectations of 118.

Bucking the pattern, readings on shopper expectations, a forward-facing metric, fell to 70.9 in March from 72 the earlier month. Though the gauge nonetheless outperformed expectations of 68.4.

The readings are a constructive signal for shopper sentiment, which tends to undergo throughout oil shocks that increase gasoline costs. On Tuesday morning, the nationwide common for gasoline crossed over $4 per gallon, in response to AAA knowledge.

In a shopper notice on Tuesday, Goldman Sachs strategists famous that shopper sentiment, as measured by the University of Michigan, has fallen under ranges seen in the course of the 2001 tech bubble and in the course of the depths of the 2008 monetary disaster.

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February noticed the bottom hiring fee since April 2020 within the depths of the pandemic, at 3.1%, in response to Labor Department knowledge launched Tuesday. US hires for the month fell to 4.8 million, down 387,000 yr over yr.

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US shares turned up on the opening bell on Tuesday after President Trump told administration officials that he was contemplating winding down navy presence in Iran with out resolving management over the Strait of Hormuz, per the Wall Street Journal

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) ticked up by 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively. The tech-exposed Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose by a stronger 1.3%.

In a social media post Tuesday morning, the US president seemingly signaled his willingness to wind down aggressive navy motion, counteracting earlier escalatory language on Monday.

“Iran has been, essentially, decimated,” Trump posted on Truth Social, addressing different international locations. “The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!”

Oil rose Tuesday morning regardless of the president’s feedback. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) crude climbed above $103 per barrel because the US-Israeli war towards Iran entered its fifth week, whereas the worldwide benchmark crossed $117.

Investors will get the March shopper confidence studying and the February Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Tuesday, in what needs to be a learn on US shopper well being. In a bearish signal for shopper sentiment, US gasoline costs on the pump crossed $4 per gallon nationally early Tuesday morning, in response to knowledge from AAA. Diesel costs averaged $5.45 per gallon.

Home costs rose barely to begin the yr, however the newest studying was taken earlier than fallout from the Iran War started pushing mortgage charges greater.

The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price Index, which measures costs within the nation’s largest metro areas, rose 1.18% in January from a yr earlier, and 0.16% from December.

The meager beneficial properties replicate the housing market’s low-supply, low-demand dynamics. First-time homebuyers proceed to wrestle with affordability, whereas many would-be sellers delay transferring and grasp on to their ultra-low mortgage charges.

The knowledge displays dwelling gross sales that closed between late 2025 and early 2026, when mortgage charges had been hovering close to multiyear lows within the low 6% space, a worrying signal for future housing exercise. Since then, mortgage charges have climbed quickly over the last month and averaged round 6.55% on Monday, in response to Mortgage News Daily.

Consumer items large Unilever will merge its meals enterprise with the spice maker McCormick in a deal valued at $44.8 billion, the companies confirmed on Tuesday — marking the newest tie-up within the shopper items and food-and-beverage house.

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Gas costs crossed a national average of $4 per gallon early Tuesday morning because the war in Iran has continued to wrack the vitality market, driving up oil costs across the globe.

The common worth on the pump throughout the US hit $4.02 on Tuesday, its highest stage since August 2022, according to AAA data, after climbing greater than $1 over the previous month from $2.98

This rise comes because the US-Iran war enters its fifth week and is the newest milestone to be reached by gasoline costs, which at the moment are up about $1 on common from one month in the past.

Underlying oil costs on worldwide Brent crude (BZ=F) and US West Texas Intermediate crude (CL=F) have surged by roughly 50% every over the previous month because the war started. Futures on the 2 vitality merchandise had been buying and selling round $107.80 per barrel and $102 per barrel, respectively.

On March 25, the Trump administration eased federal ethanol restrictions by issuing an emergency waiver for E15 gasoline, a transfer designed to extend the availability of a cheaper mix of gas forward of the hotter climate driving season. The White House additionally issued a short lived 60-day waiver on so-called “Jones Act” necessities that make home transport dearer.

Neither transfer, nevertheless, has managed to actually pull gasoline costs again throughout the nation.

While consumers have had to shell out more money to replenish their automobiles over the previous month, truckers have been paying much more. The nationwide common for a gallon of diesel reached $5.45 on Tuesday.