NEW YORK (AP) — Hopes for a possible end to the war with Iran pushed stocks higher on Wall Street on Wednesday, while oil prices eased.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent in its latest flip-flop after the United States delivered a plan to pause the war with Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 305 points, or 0.7%, and the NASDAQ composite gained 0.8%.

But the moves were shaky, and the S&P 500 briefly came close to erasing all of its jump, which maxed out at 1.2% in the morning. Financial markets have swung sharply since the war began more than three weeks ago, and many of the reversals have come hour to hour as uncertainty continues to dominate about how long the war will last.

Keeping up that uncertainty on Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with Iranian state TV that his government has not engaged in talks to end the war, “and we do not plan on any negotiations.”

Iran also launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, including an assault that sparked a huge fire at Kuwait International Airport, while coming under attack itself. The US military deployed paratroopers and more Marines to the region.

Optimism, though, was........

© The Times of Israel