Oil’s retreat propels US stocks higher
Front-month West Texas Intermediate futures are down more than 4%, while Brent futures are off more than 2% as of 1:25 p.m. ET as traders glom on to some optimistic signs about the flow of oil through the all-important Strait of Hormuz:
A Pakistani-owned tanker passed through the strait this weekend while broadcasting its signal, per Reuters, “indicating that some countries are able to negotiate safe passage for their vessels despite the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.”
US President Donald Trump said that some “fairly local” countries would soon be helping ships traverse the strait (while having added that other countries are “not enthusiastic” about the prospect of participating).
First non-Iranian cargo transits Strait of Hormuz with AIS on
— MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) March 16, 2026
The Aframax tanker Karachi, carrying Abu Dhabi’s Das crude, has become the first non-Iranian cargo to transit the chokepoint while broadcasting its AIS signal, suggesting that select shipments may be receiving… pic.twitter.com/Q6j6W3Cxz3
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF and Invesco QQQ Trust are both up over 1% amid oil’s retreat.
That being said, the news flow is far from universally positive.
Reuters reports that the UAE’s crude output has been cut in half since the Mideast conflict started; Bloomberg says Kuwait’s production has suffered a similar decline.
A Pakistani-owned tanker passed through the strait this weekend while broadcasting its signal, per Reuters, “indicating that some countries are able to negotiate safe passage for their vessels despite the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.”
US President Donald Trump said that some “fairly local” countries would soon be helping ships traverse the strait (while having added that other countries are “not enthusiastic” about the prospect of participating).
First non-Iranian cargo transits Strait of Hormuz with AIS on
— MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) March 16, 2026
The Aframax tanker Karachi, carrying Abu Dhabi’s Das crude, has become the first non-Iranian cargo to transit the chokepoint while broadcasting its AIS signal, suggesting that select shipments may be receiving… pic.twitter.com/Q6j6W3Cxz3
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF and Invesco QQQ Trust are both up over 1% amid oil’s retreat.
That being said, the news flow is far from universally positive.
Reuters reports that the UAE’s crude output has been cut in half since the Mideast conflict started; Bloomberg says Kuwait’s production has suffered a similar decline.
