April 1, 2026

Stock indices rise amid hopes of a de-escalation of the geopolitical conflict

International

Yesterday, the conflict between the United States and Iran showed signs of easing following statements by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who said his country has the “necessary will” to end the ongoing war with Israel and the United States, but is seeking guarantees that the conflict will not be repeated. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he expects the war to end within the next two to three weeks.

Against this backdrop, major U.S. stock indices rose significantly yesterday. The S&P 500 rose +2.9%, while the Nasdaq led the gains with a +3.8% increase, and the Dow Jones followed with a +2.5% rise. Thus, so far this year, the indices have accumulated changes of -4.6%, -7.1%, and -3.6%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened. The 1-year bond yield fell from 3.65% to 3.62%, while the 3-year bond yield fell from 3.82% to 3.78%. For the 10-year segment, the yield fell to 4.28% from the previous 4.32%.

Finally, the JOLTS employment survey, which measures open job vacancies, was released yesterday for the month of February. The survey shows that there were 6.882 million job vacancies during the period, which is close to the 6.9 million figure expected by the consensus of analysts. In addition, the February figure was revised upward, from 6.946 million to 7.24 million job openings. In the Eurozone, the February unemployment rate was released, coming in at 6.2%, slightly above the expected figure of 6.1%.

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