The Australian Securities Exchange jumped at the open on March 25 as optimism grew over Washington’s efforts to end what reports describe as a nearly month-long Middle East conflict. Oil prices slid in response, with investors pricing in the possibility of de-escalation.
Separately, La República reported that President Donald Trump revealed that negotiations with Iran are happening “right now,” amid reports of a 15-point plan being transmitted between the two sides. The details of the plan remain unclear, but the mere acknowledgment of active diplomacy appears to have calmed jittery global markets.