Trump's "Easing Signals" Shake Capital Markets, Stock Markets in Europe and US Surge, Oil and Gold Swing Across the Board

Why did Trump shift to dialogue after the final ultimatum?

Cailian Press, March 23 (Editor Zhao Hao) After U.S. President Trump claimed to have “productive” talks with Iran, European and American stock markets surged, international oil prices fell, and precious metals recovered most of their intraday losses.

At 7:05 p.m. Beijing time on Monday (March 23), Trump posted on the social media platform “Truth Social” that, “The United States and Iran have had very good and productive discussions over the past two days.”

Trump also stated that he has instructed a five-day pause on all military strikes against Iran’s power plants and energy infrastructure, provided that ongoing meetings and discussions are successful.

Shortly before this statement, Iran’s Islamic Republic Broadcasting said on social media that Trump “retracted the 48-hour ultimatum out of fear of Iran’s retaliation.”

Mehr News Agency reported that Trump “retreated,” and his threats against Iran’s energy infrastructure are “bluff.”

Following this news, U.S. stock futures turned from decline to rise before the market opened, with the three major indices futures initially up over 2.4% (now narrowed to 1.4%), after all three major futures indices fell about 1%. FTSE China A50 Index futures surged nearly 1%.

European stock markets trading are collectively higher, with France’s CAC40 and Italy’s MIB indices both up over 1%, and Germany’s DAX up more than 1.6%.

International crude oil prices fell sharply. U.S. WTI futures dropped 6%, briefly falling below $90 per barrel; international benchmark Brent crude fell over 4%, briefly dropping below the $100 mark.

Intraday, precious metals prices rebounded. Spot gold is around $4,370 per ounce, after previously falling below $4,100; spot silver turned up, currently at $67.31 per ounce, after intraday lows of $61.