By Doloresz Katanich with AP
Published on 02/04/2026 – 7:01 GMT+2•Updated
9:30
Instead of declaring victory or offering clarity on his strategy in the Iran war, the US president promised fresh attacks over the next two to three weeks, reviving fears of rising inflation and slowing economic growth.
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Dampened hopes of an end to the war in Iran weighed on stock prices in Europe and Asia and gave oil prices a fresh boost early on Thursday. Brent crude, the international benchmark, briefly rose above $108 per barrel, settling around $107.70 at the European stock market opening. At the same time, the US benchmark, WTI crude, was up 6.2% at $106.30 a barrel.
In his prime-time speech to Americans, Donald Trump said, “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.”
The US president promised further strikes on energy facilities if no deal was reached with Tehran. Trump also said that the United States would “finish the job” in Iran soon, as “core strategic objectives are nearing completion” and military operations could wrap up shortly.
Trump did not mention a looming deadline he set for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway for global oil and gas transport, after he had earlier threatened US attacks on its energy infrastructure if the strait was not reopened. He did not offer a clear path to ending the supply disruptions that have sent energy prices soaring.
“The market has shown disappointment because the speech President Trump made was far less than what the market expected,” said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex in Tokyo. “There were no concrete details about the end of the hostilities with Iran.”
“What the market wants is a clear outline for the ceasefire,” he said.
How did leading stock markets react?
European stock indices opened lower on Thursday, with London’s FTSE down 0.7% at the open. Paris’s CAC 40 fell 1.2%, while Frankfurt’s DAX slipped 1.5%. Key indices in Milan and Madrid were down 1.3% and 1.5%, respectively.
The best-performing stocks were ENI S.P.A. and TotalEnergies, both up by more than 2% in the opening. At the same time, Deutsche Telekom, Schneider Electric, Rheinmetall, Infineon Technologies and ASML Holding were all down by more than 3%.
The euro lost 0.5% against the US dollar, with the exchange rate at 1.1531.
In Asia, the leading stock indices also closed the day with major losses. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was down 2.4%, and South Korea’s Kospi lost 4.5%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.1%, while the Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.7%.
US futures were down between 1.1% and 1.5%.
Gold and silver prices fell. Gold was down 3.5% at $4,644.40 per ounce, and silver lost 6.8% to $70.90 an ounce.
