Dow falls 200 points as oil jumps on fear Iran negotiations breaking down: Live updates

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped on Tuesday as investors grew concerned that a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran would not be struck ahead of a ceasefire that’s set to expire Wednesday.

The 30-stock index shed 200 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 fell 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.6%.

The New York Times reported that Vice President JD Vance’s trip to join Iran negotiations was paused because of lack of response from the Tehran side. The paper cited one official with direct knowledge of the matter.

President Donald Trump had told CNBC earlier Tuesday that he expects the U.S. and Iran to make a “great deal.” The president added, however, that the U.S. military is “ready” to bomb Iran if a deal is not signed by the ceasefire deadline and that he does not want to extend it.

His comments came after the president said in a Truth Social post that Iran “Violated the Cease Fire numerous times!”

Oil prices reversed course from a big decline in recent days in anticipation of a deal. West Texas Intermediate futures increased 5% to above $94 per barrel. Brent futures advanced 4% to trade above $99 a barrel.

“As confidence begins to come back around that traffic will normalize, then the commodity prices will also,” said Brian Mulberry, Zacks Investment Management chief market strategist. “We expect that the critical piece of it, which is control over the [Strait of Hormuz], will absolutely be resolved by the end of this week.”

There was a brief jump in traffic of commercial ships through the strait over the weekend that then slowed again following a number of vessel attacks, to be sure.

The major averages slipped on Monday with traders on edge ahead of the ceasefire expiration and momentum slowing a bit on the market comeback. The Nasdaq snapped its longest winning streak since 1992 of 13 days.

In the prior trading week, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched multiple all-time intraday and closing highs on hopes for an end to the Iran war in the near future. Notably, the former finished above 7,100 for the first time ever.

Those on Wall Street, including Mulberry, remain bullish on the broader picture ahead for equities.

“What you’re seeing is a really strong Q1 when it comes to earnings,” he said, noting an anticipated double-digit percentage growth in that area as well as “strong” revenues. “I don’t think that that can be overlooked in this moment in time.”

On Tuesday, UnitedHealth’s first-quarter results surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, which sent shares of the health insurance giant more than 8% higher. The company also hiked its earnings outlook.

Meanwhile, Amazon shares climbed more than 1% on the heels of the company agreeing to invest up to $25 billion in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.