CNBC Daily Open: Markets rally as Trump signals Iran war could end soon

Hello, this is Dylan Butts writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.

The global markets rollercoaster resulting from the U.S. war with Iran continued on Tuesday, with Wall Street rallying sharply on renewed hopes that the conflict could be moving towards a resolution. 

Those hopes were fueled by an announcement from the White House that President Donald Trump will deliver an address “to the nation to provide an important update on Iran” at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday.

But, we’ve been here before: Optimism builds, markets rally, but then reality intrudes. Can this recent positive sentiment last, or are we just building up to more drops and loops? 

A wave of reports on Tuesday suggested that Washington and Tehran may be exploring paths to end their conflict, including an unconfirmed report that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is open to ending the war if guarantees are provided. 

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had told aides he was willing to end military hostilities in the Middle East even if the Strait of Hormuz remained largely shut. The President later told the New York Post he believes the war will likely end soon, and that the strait would reopen ‘automatically’ after a U.S. exit.

Markets rallied sharply on the shifting tone Tuesday. All three major U.S. indexes posted their best day since May, with the Dow jumping more than 1,100 points. The S&P 500 gained 2.91% to end at 6,528.52, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 3.83% to 21,590.63.

After markets closed, Trump said he expected that U.S. military forces would leave Iran in “two or three weeks.” The U.S. has been building up troops in the Middle East for potential ground operations against Iran, though no moves have been made at this time.

Hours later, the White House said that Trump will deliver an address “to the nation to provide an important update on Iran” at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Trump also lashed out at Western allies including France and the U.K, warning that the U.S. “won’t be there to help you anymore” after they refused to join military action against Iran and help open the Strait of Hormuz. 

Partial closures of the strait have impacted global supply chains, particularly oil, since the start of the war. Brent crude prices remained elevated as Iran struck a Kuwaiti oil tanker in waters near Dubai.

While oil continues to dominate wr-related market headlines this week, we’ve also seen some recent notable swings in tech stocks, particularly artificial intelligence.

OpenAI on Tuesday announced it closed a record-breaking funding round that valued the company at $852 billion post-money, with $122 billion in committed capital, up from the $110 billion figure it announced in February.

Meanwhile, CNBC confirmed that Oracle has begun telling employees it will cut thousands of jobs, as the software maker grapples with a plummeting stock price tied to heavy spending on AI infrastructure.

— Dylan Butts

Jim Cramer: Three ways the stock market will flip if the U.S.-Iran war ends

Want to know how the market will react when the U.S.-Iran war finally ends? CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Tuesday’s session gives investors the answer. 

The “Mad Money” host said that the market “tipped its hand” during Tuesday trading as stocks finally rallied and rates went lower. 

“Today we saw what would happen when you give peace a chance,” Cramer said. “Maybe this dialogue with Iran is really nothing more than an exchange of messages. Maybe it’s meaningless. So, consider today a dry run of what will ultimately occur when the war winds down.”

— Morgan Chittum