Stock futures surged in overnight trading as investors bet that a US-Iran deal could materially reshape the global energy landscape. Dow futures climbed around 440 to 505 points, roughly a 1% gain, while oil prices cratered in the opposite direction.
West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $96.35 per barrel, a drop of more than 5% from recent sessions. The logic is straightforward: if Washington and Tehran reach an agreement, the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil chokepoints, could see significantly more supply flowing through it.
The deal that isn’t done yet
President Trump has indicated that negotiations are in their final stages. Iranian officials, for their part, have struck a more cautious tone. They’ve acknowledged consensus on several issues but pushed back on the notion that an agreement is imminent.
The talks involve a complex web of mediators, including diplomats from Pakistan and Oman. Lurking beneath the surface is Iran’s uranium enrichment program, a sticking point that has derailed previous rounds of diplomacy and could easily do so again.
