Why Trump’s Iran Address Failed to Soothe Markets

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Why Trump’s Iran Address Failed to Soothe Markets

Oil surged and stocks sold off after the president delivered an unclear case for continuing the war in the Middle East.

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By

Andrew Ross Sorkin

Bernhard Warner

Sarah Kessler

Michael J. de la Merced

Niko Gallogly

and

Brian O’Keefe

April 2, 2026,

7:45 a.m. ET

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Investors were largely unimpressed with President Trump’s address on the war in Iran.

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Doug Mills/The New York Times

In today's newsletter:

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The stakes of the SpaceX I.P.O.

Pic of the day

Grading Year 1 of Trump’s tariffs

Andrew here.

President Trump’s address to the nation did not seem to be inspiring the confidence he was hoping for. Futures are pointing lower as it appears that the war in Iran will continue with no clear end in sight. We’re also taking a look at another war of sorts: Today is the first anniversary of the so-called Liberation Day tariffs. And we examine the details and the stakes of SpaceX’s I.P.O. filing.

Finally, please join me in congratulating my friend and colleague Michael de la Merced. Friday is Michael’s 20th anniversary with The Times and DealBook. He has been a linchpin of this team for two decades; I am constantly in awe of his talent and judgment.

Falling flat with investors

President Trump pitched

his vision of the war in Iran

on Wednesday night. Most investors aren’t buying it.

In his 19-minute address, Trump reiterated his threats against Tehran, saying the U.S. would bomb the country “back to the stone ages, where they belong.” But he

offered little new detail

on how Washington would exit the war while containing the economic fallout that has rattled markets and that

threatens global growth

.

That ambiguity is now resonating through the markets as hopes of a rapid end to the fighting fade.

The latest:

Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil,

climbed to near $108 a barrel

on Thursday, after briefly falling below $100 on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, surged above $108 a barrel.

S&P 500 futures are sharply lower, erasing much of Wednesday’s gains.

Bonds are selling off amid investor fears of lower growth and higher inflation.

Iranian officials are

skeptical of engaging

in substantial negotiations over ending the war, U.S. intelligence has determined, and

rejected Trump’s assertions

that its missile and drone system abilities had been severely degraded.

Israel

and some

Persian Gulf countries

reported drone and missile strikes on Thursday.

Image

Trump asserted that the war was “nearing completion,”

reiterating a previous, if somewhat vague, timeline that the fighting would continue for roughly three weeks. He again urged countries that use the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial conduit for oil and natural gas shipments that Iran has effectively blockaded — to “take care of that passage.” (The Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources, that Trump threatened to

halt weapons shipments and supplies to Ukraine

unless European countries moved to help fully reopen the strait.)

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