Stocks slide and oil jumps as war fears grow

Stocks fell and oil rose on concern the war in the Middle East is intensifying ahead of President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to agree to a ceasefire deal.

Fears that an escalation of the conflict could heighten the global fuel squeeze and endanger the economy curbed risk appetite, with the S&P 500 halting a four-day advance, News.Az reports, citing SWI. US crude topped $115 after the US attacked Kharg Island, a key energy export hub. Bitcoin dropped. Bonds and the dollar wavered.

Trump reiterated his threat to unleash a massive new bombing campaign, pressing Iran to make an agreement before his Tuesday 8 p.m. deadline, saying that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if that does not occur.

He also held out the possibility of an agreement, saying new Iranian leaders with “different, smarter, and less radicalized minds” could reach a deal. “We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World,” he added.

Speaking in Budapest, Vice President JD Vance said he’s confident Iran will issue a response by then.

“Investors are likely to remain on edge and markets unable to establish trends, probably until there is a clear outcome later this evening: a deal, the US-Israeli strikes intensify, or Iran’s retaliation becomes escalatory instead of proportional,” said Paul Christopher at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

Corporate Highlights:

Bill Ackman has proposed a bid for Universal Music Group NV — the world’s largest music company, which houses the likes of Taylor Swift, Drake and Sabrina Carpenter — to increase returns on one of his hedge fund’s biggest holdings. Anthropic PBC said its revenue run rate has now topped $30 billion, up from $9 billion at the end of 2025, and confirmed plans to work with Broadcom Inc. and Google to power its burgeoning operations. Shares of major insurance companies climbed as the US Medicare program will pay private insurers 2.48% more in 2027, a meaningful improvement over the initial rates the agency proposed in January. Gilead Sciences Inc. agreed to buy private German biotech Tubulis GmbH in a deal worth up to $5 billion as it looks to boost its portfolio in a hot new area of cancer drug development, according to people familiar with the matter. Novo Nordisk A/S will price its new high-dose Wegovy shot at $399 a month for cash-pay patients, undercutting the cost of most doses of rival Eli Lilly & Co.’s Zepbound. Blackstone Inc. raised $10 billion for its latest opportunistic credit fund, signaling sustained appetite from institutional investors to capitalize on upheaval in the private debt market. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% as of 9:30 a.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4% The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.3% The MSCI World Index fell 0.3% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1% The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1561 The British pound was little changed at $1.3243 The Japanese yen was little changed at 159.78 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin fell 1.9% to $68,501.48 Ether fell 3% to $2,084.95 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.33% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 3.04% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 4.87% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.5% to $115.23 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.1% to $4,656.75 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

News.Az 

By Leyla Şirinova