Stocks rise and oil prices ease as Wall Street keeps yo-yoing because of the war with Iran

Hopes for a possible end to the war with Iran pushed stocks higher on Wall Street Wednesday, while oil prices eased.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent in its latest flip - flop  after the United States delivered a plan to pause the war  to Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 305 points, or 0.7 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.8 per cent.

But the moves were shaky, and the S&P 500 briefly came close to erasing all of its jump, which maxed out at 1.2 per cent during the morning. Financial markets have swung sharply since the war began more than three weeks ago, and many of the reversals have struck hour to hour  as uncertainty continues to dominate about how long the war will last.

Keeping up that uncertainty on Wednesday: Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said in an interview with Iranian state TV that his government has not engaged in talks to end the war, “and we do not plan on any negotiations.”

Iran also launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, including an assault that sparked a huge fire at Kuwait International Airport, while coming under attack itself. The U.S. military deployed paratroopers and more Marines to the region.

Optimism, though, was nevertheless evident in financial markets worldwide. Stock indexes climbed more than 1 per cent in London, Paris and Shanghai. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 leaped 2.9 per cent.