U.S. stocks posted their best one-day gain since Ma. Oil rose 63% over the month

U.S. stocks rose sharply on Tuesday after Iran signaled its readiness to end the war with security guarantees. U.S. media sources say U.S. President Donald Trump is also ready to end hostilities in the Middle East without even waiting for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, a major artery for the world's oil and gas markets. While Tuesday was the best day for stocks since Ma 2025, all of March was the worst month for the S&P 500 since 2022. Brent crude oil posted its strongest monthly gain in history.

- The index of "blue chips" Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on March 31 by 2.5%. However, at the end of March, the index still fell by more than 5%, and for him it means the end of a series of 10 consecutive months of increase, writes CNBC.

- The broad market index S&P 500 added 2.9%. However, by the end of March, it lost more than 5% - for the index this is the worst month since 2022, the channel notes.

- The Nasdaq Composite technology sector index jumped 3.8%. Despite the rebound, it is also down more than 5% through March and remains in correction, more than 10% below its recent high, CNBC emphasizes.

- Index of shares of small and mid-capitalization companies Russell 2000 added 3.4%. By the results of March the index grew by about 3%.

- The CBOE 's so-called "Wall Street Fear Index" (VIX) plunged 17% to below 30 points on March 31. The psychologically important mark indicating high volatility is considered to be 20 points.

- May Brent futures were up 5% on Tuesday, rising above $118 per barrel. WTI futures were down 1%, remaining above $101 per barrel.

- Gold rose 3.5% to $4668 a troy ounce. But even with Tuesday's rally, the metal ended March down about 12%, the steepest monthly decline in gold's spot price since October 2008, when it collapsed more than 16%, Yahoo Finance noted.

- For all three major U.S. indices - S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones - the result of March 31 was the best since Ma 2025, CNBC noted. At the same time, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones had the worst quarter since 2022. Brent oil at the end of March rose in price by 63%, breaking the previous record set back in 1990 after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the Financial Times wrote. U.S. oil WTI added 50% to the price for the month.

Stocks rose on Tuesday thanks to a series of reports that gave investors back hope that the war between the U.S. and Iran will end soon. Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, according to Iranian media reports, expressed readiness to end the war if there are guarantees, Bloomberg writes. CNBC notes that Pezeshkian has previously made similar statements, saying that "the only way to end this war is to recognize Iran's legitimate rights, reparations and firm international guarantees against future aggression".

The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed to aides his desire to end military action in the Middle East even if the Strait of Hormuz, critical to the world's oil supply, remains closed. Trump later said in an interview with the New York Post that the U.S. "will not stay there [in the Middle East] for long" and that other countries should take the lead in opening the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the next few days of the conflict will be decisive, and the number of shells fired by Iran over the past 24 hours has become the lowest for the entire duration of the war, the WSJ reports. At the same time, according to the newspaper, the United States has already sent a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East - the USS George H.W. Bush.

Oil prices remained under pressure Tuesday after Bloomberg reported an attack on a Kuwaiti oil tanker in Dubai waters. Brent posted its biggest percentage gain for the quarter, up 71%, since 1990, according to Dow Jones Market Data cited by Barron's. West Texas Intermediate crude futures added 51% for March and 77% for the first three months of 2026. Both gains were the highest since the spring of 2020, when lockdowns due to Covid-19 caused a slowdown in the global economy, Barron's recalls.

Shares of energy companies began to decline after reports about the statements of the President of Iran: Exxon Mobil and Chevron securities fell by more than 1%. Shares of airlines, experiencing a shortage of fuel, grew: securities of Delta Air Lines and American Airlines ended Tuesday's trading up 5%.

The technology sector, which has been under pressure since the conflict began, rallied broadly on Tuesday, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund adding more than 4%. Shares of Nvidia rose more than 5.6%, while Microsoft rose 3.1%. Tesla shares rose 4.6%, their best performance since November.

- "Any moves to end the war are generally liked by the stock market, which is why we're seeing this 'relief rally,'" Eric Deaton, president of The Wealth Alliance, told CNBC. - But no, the worst is not over yet." He noted that if the oil problem is not resolved, the pressure on the market will continue.

- "It increasingly appears that Trump's rhetorical somersaults are part of an attempt to simultaneously manage Iranian expectations and traders' expectations. To do that, threats of war must alternate with promises of peace," Macquarie Group strategist Thierry Wiseman was quoted by MarketWatch as saying.

- "The market is certainly looking for a reason to go up," Natixis Investment Managers portfolio manager Jack Janasevich told Bloomberg. - The question for us is how real that reason is."

- Without clear signs of a real approach to conflict resolution, it's too early to say the stock market has hit bottom, Newedge Wealth strategist Brian Nick emphasized in a conversation with Bloomberg.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor