Wall Street was set to surge Monday alongside global markets after a tentative agreement was announced to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz — sending oil prices tumbling nearly $5 a barrel to their lowest point in months.
Before the opening bell, futures for the S&P 500 were up 1.3%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 0.9%, and Nasdaq futures jumped 1.3%.
After several false starts that left investors skeptical, markets appeared to be betting that an end to the conflict was finally within reach. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the preliminary agreement and gave the green light to lift the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Iran also confirmed the deal, though officials there indicated the agreement would not go into effect until a formal signing ceremony — which Pakistan said would take place Friday in Switzerland. Negotiations on broader issues, including Iran’s nuclear program, are expected to continue over the following 60 days.
Oil prices dropped sharply in Monday trading. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell $4.28 to $83.05 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark crude dropped $4.55 to $80.33 per barrel — the lowest prices seen since the war’s opening days in late February.
Energy analysts cautioned that it could take months for oil prices to fully stabilize. The war’s disruptions sent fuel and product costs soaring, and experts said shipping and insurance companies will need confidence that the peace agreement will hold before supply flows freely again.
Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management offered a measured take in a research note: “The reopening of Hormuz is a relief valve, not a full peace dividend. The market can remove some crude panic, but it still has to price the gap between a headline, a signature, and a regime that actually complies.”
Even so, the announcement brought significant relief to markets that have been in turmoil for more than three months.
On the corporate front, shares of Roku climbed an additional 1.5% Monday morning after Fox Corp. announced it is acquiring the streaming platform in a cash-and-stock deal worth approximately $22 billion. The acquisition gives Fox access to the Roku channel, first-party viewer data, and a customer base of more than 100 million streaming households worldwide. Fox will pay $96 in cash plus 0.9693 shares of its Class A common stock for each Roku share, valuing the transaction at $160 per share. After already jumping more than 20% on Friday when reports of the deal first emerged, Roku shares added another $1.84 to reach $145.50 Monday morning.
Shares of Elon Musk’s SpaceX also gained 5.6% in premarket trading Monday, building on a strong debut on Wall Street last week. The company’s stock had leaped 19.2% on its first day of trading, giving SpaceX a total market value of $2.1 trillion — larger than Exxon Mobil, Bank of America, and Coca-Cola combined. The strong investor appetite reflected continued enthusiasm for artificial intelligence-related companies.
European markets also moved higher by midday. Germany’s DAX rose 1.3% and France’s CAC 40 gained 1.2%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 was essentially flat.
Asian markets posted strong gains. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 surged 5% to 69,317.50, setting another record high, driven largely by technology and AI-related stocks. Japan’s benchmark index has now risen more than 80% over the past year.
“This is great news,” said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex. “Buying by foreign investors is leading the market with expectations of easing tensions around the situation in the Middle East. Then the decline in New York crude oil futures is supporting this positive market.”
South Korea’s Kospi surged 5.2% to 8,545.98. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.5% to 24,842.67, and China’s Shanghai Composite rose 1.6% to 4,096.47. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.3% to 8,922.90, Taiwan’s Taiex was up 2.8%, and India’s Sensex gained 1.2%.
Looking ahead, investors will be watching several major interest rate decisions this week. The Federal Reserve is set to announce its decision Wednesday, followed by the Bank of England on Thursday. On Tuesday, the Bank of Japan is expected to raise its benchmark interest rate from 0.75% to 1% — which would mark the highest rate in more than 30 years.
