Thursday, April 2, 2026…4:10 PM ET
[4:00 PM ET closing prices for stocks; 3:50ish for commodities and bonds.]
Tale of the Tape at the gas pump, nationwide averages, courtesy of AAA.
Fri., Feb. 27…regular gas $2.98…diesel $3.75
Thurs. Apr. 2…reg. $4.08…diesel $5.50…31 cents from all-time high….
Wednesday night, President Trump finally formally addressed the American people on the status of the war, more than a month into it, and he promised a swift end to the conflict.
“We’re going to finish it very fast. We’re getting very close,” Trump said. “We are on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly, very shortly. We are going to hit them extremely hard. Over the next two to three weeks, we’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong. In the meantime, discussions are ongoing.”
Trump once again called on Europe to take the lead in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
He said to the allies: “Go to the Strait and just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves. Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part is done, so it should be easy.”
Trump said countries that receive oil through the Strait “must take care of that passage.”
“They must cherish it. They must grab it and cherish it.”
He then simply said, without expanding further, that the Strait would reopen “naturally” when the war was over.
“When this conflict is over, the strait will open up naturally. It’ll just open up naturally. They’re going to want to be able to sell oil, because that’s all they have to try and rebuild. It will resume the flowing and the gas prices will rapidly come back down.”
Trump asserted that “we don’t need” the oil that goes through the Strait of Hormuz. It’s true that the U.S. imports very little oil from the Gulf, but Trump’s stance ignores the economic reality that oil prices are set globally and that supply disruptions in the Middle East will filter through here, as they already are.
And then you have goods like fertilizer that are being choked off.
Trump’s address was largely notable for what he didn’t say. The president did not mention potential plans to put boots on the ground or lay out U.S. demands for a ceasefire, even though thousands of forces are entering the theater.
Earlier in the day, as noted above, Trump claimed that Iran asked the U.S. for a ceasefire.
The president gave no definitive end date for the war. He maintained that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, calling such a prospect “an intolerable threat,” and said the country was building a vast arsenal of ballistic missiles that were a threat to America’s homeland.
While he said Iran’s ballistic missile capacity was greatly reduced, he didn’t explain how the operation had headed off Iran’s nuclear ambitions. He and his administration had previously insisted that the U.S. and Israel “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program in Midnight Hammer last June.
Trump in his primetime address laid out a rosy picture of how the economy will rebound once the war in Iran comes to an end.
“It will resume the flowing, and the gas prices will rapidly come back down. Stock prices will rapidly go back up,” he said.
Trump emphasized that this conflict shouldn’t be compared to past quagmires the U.S. has engaged in historically, such as the wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan.
“Tonight, every American can look forward to a day when we are finally free from the wickedness of Iranian aggression and the specter of nuclear blackmail,” Trump said. “Because of the actions we have taken, we are on the cusp of ending Iran’s sinister threat to America and the world. And I’ll tell you, the world is watching.”
One person watching was Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and it’s not known if he and his government agree with the timetable of a few more weeks as provided by Trump.
And what happened to the 15-point peace plan the White House was urging Iran to accept just days ago? No mention of it Wednesday night.
Markets cratered. As the president was speaking, oil futures began to soar and early Thursday morning, WTI got up to $113+, the Dow Jones down over 600.
The war showed no signs of letting up early today, as Israel said it intercepted missiles fired from Iran. The UAE and Saudi Arabia also said they responded to missile and drone strikes.
A spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces’ unified command said on Thursday that Tehran will press on with the war until the United States and Israel face “permanent regret and surrender,” according to the semi-official Tasnim new agency.
Ebrahim Zolfaqari said Iran would step up its military actions, with “more crushing, broader and more destructive” attacks in store.
But then around 10:30 AM, the market rallied back on word Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to monitor traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, state-run IRNA reported, citing Iran Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibababid.
“Naturally, these requirements do not constitute restrictions, but are intended to facilitate and ensure safe passage and provide better services to ships transiting this route,” Gharibabadi told IRNA.
He said vessel traffic through the Strait should take place under Iran and Oman’s supervision and coordination.
Well, look at a map. Iran needs a partner to be able to collect tolls, and Oman is not Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bharain or Kuwait, the five nations President Trump cited in his speech Wednesday night as being part of the U.S. orbit. Oman and Iran have pretty good relations.
But the markets liked it, though after falling from $113 to roughly $108, West Texas Intermediate moved back up to $111, with gasoline futures, having fallen from $3.30 to $3.20 on the news, back above $3.25, which was compared to Wednesday’s close of $3.05.
Lastly, after a spectacular and successful launch last night, Artemis II, having orbited Earth for 24 hours, will fire up the rockets to set it on a trajectory to the Moon. We pray for the crew of four and their safe return in about nine days.
But wait…there’s more! Mikaela Shiffrin rang the closing bell at the NYSE! We love Mikaela. You go, Girl!!!
Dow Jones -61…-0.1% [46504]
S&P 500 +7…+0.1% [6582]
Nasdaq +38…+0.2% [21879]
Oil (WTI) $111.40…Brent $108.50
Gold $4675
Silver $72.70
Bitcoin $66,973 [4:00 PM ET]
U.S. 2-yr. 3.79%
U.S. 10-yr. 4.30%
Japanese 10-yr. 2.37%…up 8 basis points to another 27-year high…
Check out my Week in Review, posted Friday around 4:30 PM ET.
Happy Easter!
Brian Trumbore
