Stocks Tumble, Oil Surges in Wake of Trump Speech

The stock market woke up in an expected sour mood on Thursday after President Trump's Iran speech on Wednesday night. Investors were apparently hoping to hear a clearer timetable for an end to the war, reports the AP, and have reacted accordingly:

• The Dow fell about 500 points in the first half hour of trading, or 1%, while the S&P 500 and the tech-focused Nasdaq fell by percentages of 0.9% and 1.3%, reports CNBC.
• Oil prices jumped. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 8% to $109 a barrel, per the Wall Street Journal.

• In his speech, Trump said the US is "getting very close" to ending the war, but he added that "over the next two to three weeks, we're going to bring them back to the stone ages where they belong." He also predicted that stock prices would rise quickly once the conflict ended.