Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell in New York on March 24, 2026.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images
A 2-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran triggered a relief rally across risk assets, sending stocks higher and oil tumbling, while persistent demand for gold and Treasurys pointed to a market still hedging against uncertainty.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he had agreed to suspend planned attacks on Iranian infrastructure for two weeks, subject to Iran agreeing to a “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.”
Stocks surged across regions, with Asian benchmarks and U.S. futures climbing, as investors seized on the announcement as a potential turning point in a conflict that has rattled markets for weeks.
South Korea’s Kospi surged over 5%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was up 3.4%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 4%, while the Topix was 3.2% higher. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 2.7%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up more than 2%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 2.15%.
Gold prices since the start of the year
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 967 points, or 2.1%. S&P 500 futures added 2.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 2.3%.
Bitcoin jumped over 2% to $71,508.
Safe havens, which would typically sell-off in a de-escalation, also found support. Spot gold rose 2.2% to $4,803.83 per ounce, while gold futures added over 3% to $4,835.90.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a post on X said that Tehran will stop its “defensive operations,” adding that safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz was “possible” for the next two weeks in coordination with the country’s armed forces.
Investors also flocked to U.S. Treasurys, with yields on 10-year and 20-year debt down 9 basis points to 4.253% and 4.839%, respectively. Yields on 30-year Treasurys fell 7 basis points to 4.851%.
“We’re effectively seeing a relief rally layered on top of a still fragile macro backdrop,” said Billy Leung, investment strategist at Global X ETFs.
“Equities are responding to de-escalation headlines, but investors are not fully removing hedges given how uncertain the underlying situation remains,” he told CNBC via email.
Leung said the current move reflects more of a positioning reset than a decisive shift back to a sustained risk-on environment.
“Relief and hedging can coexist,” Leung said. “Investors are adding risk tactically but still holding or even adding to defensives as protection against reversal or other sudden headlines.”
That dynamic helps explain why bonds and gold are continuing to attract inflows even as equities rally.
Underlying macro concerns also remain unresolved. While falling oil prices may ease immediate inflation fears, the broader impact of energy spikes during the war is still filtering through the global economy. “Growth concerns are building alongside the inflation shock,” Leung added.
Oil prices, meanwhile, plunged below $100 per barrel. The West Texas Intermediate contract fell more than 14% to $96.98 per barrel, while the international benchmark Brent lost more than 12% to around $96 per barrel.