As U.S. stocks faced their most severe sell-off in months amid escalating Middle East conflict concerns, U.S. President Trump announced just 11 minutes after Thursday's market close that the deadline for striking Iranian energy facilities would be extended by 10 days, in hopes of creating more room for ceasefire negotiations.
According to reports from Xinhua News Agency and CCTV News, Trump posted on social media on Thursday, the 26th, stating that at the request of the Iranian government, the airstrikes on Iranian energy facilities would be postponed for another ten days until 8 PM EST on April 6th.
According to CCTV, Trump emphasized that despite false contrary statements from fake news media and others, bilateral negotiations are underway and &#34;progressing very smoothly.&#34;
Financial markets reacted swiftly to this latest statement. The dollar index rapidly expanded its gains in after-hours trading, briefly surpassing the 100.00 mark, the first time it touched this level intraday in three days. Simultaneously, U.S. crude oil prices, which had been significantly rising during the day, plummeted in the short term, further intensifying intraday volatility.
Prior to this, Wall Street had just experienced its most turbulent trading day since the outbreak of the Middle East crisis, with both stock and bond markets under pressure, as traders grew impatient with Trump's contradictory signals regarding Iran, coupled with soaring oil prices triggering intense inflation concerns.
<h2>Inflation Worries Hit Stocks and Bonds Hard</h2>
Before Trump's post-market announcement, the three major U.S. stock indices all closed significantly lower on Thursday. The benchmark S&amp;P 500 index fell 1.7% at the close, marking its largest single-day decline since January 20th and reaching a six-month low. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 2.4%, falling over 10% from its late October high and entering a &#34;technical correction&#34; territory.
The bond market also suffered heavy losses. By the close of trading in New York on Thursday, the yield on the U.S. 10-year benchmark Treasury note rose 7.95 basis points to 4.4117%. The yield on the more interest rate-sensitive two-year Treasury note jumped 10.05 basis points to 3.9858%, accumulating a rise of over 0.6 percentage points in the past month, marking its worst performance since September 2022. Demand for three consecutive U.S. government bond auctions totaling $183 billion this week was weak, with winning yields exceeding market levels, highlighting investor fatigue.
As the Middle East conflict disrupted oil supplies, Brent crude closed up 5.7% on Thursday at $108.01 per barrel, its largest single-day gain since March 11th; U.S. WTI crude climbed 4.6% to $94.48. The surge in oil prices prompted investors to re-evaluate the Federal Reserve's policy path, with the market not only abandoning bets on rate cuts this year but even pricing in expectations of a rate hike. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned on Thursday that the Middle East crisis would push U.S. inflation to 4.2% this year, the highest among the G7 nations.
<h2>The &#34;Invisible Ceilings&#34; of Oil and U.S. Treasuries</h2>
Facing oil price volatility, Wall Street is attempting to find a pattern in the Trump administration's policy shifts.
Many observers have noticed that whenever energy prices or borrowing costs hit certain thresholds, the White House's rhetoric tends to soften, a phenomenon known as Trump's &#34;TACO moment&#34; (an acronym for Trump Always Chickens Out).
As previously reported by Wallstreetcn, according to senior energy traders, whenever U.S. crude oil prices approach $95 to $100 per barrel, the White House's de-escalating rhetoric intensifies, and market expectations of government intervention rise. Jorge Montepeque, an oil market analyst at Onyx Capital Group, pointed out that gasoline prices exceeding $4 per gallon are politically damaging, and Trump is clearly concerned about high oil prices.
U.S. Treasury yields are another warning line that triggers de-escalation. Monica Defend, President of Amundi Investment Institute, stated that Trump has become extremely sensitive to Treasury yields during his second term, &#34;whenever the 10-year Treasury yield approaches 4.5%, the government becomes really nervous, and that's usually when they take action.&#34; To this end, Maximilian Uleer, Head of Strategy at Deutsche Bank, has constructed a &#34;Stress Index&#34; that combines indicators like inflation expectations and Treasury yields to predict the timing of the White House's strategic adjustments.
<h2>Extreme Uncertainty Intertwined with War and Negotiations</h2>
This is the second time Trump has extended the deadline for striking Iranian facilities since he first issued threats on March 21st. On Monday this week, he had already postponed the deadline to Friday, citing &#34;productive&#34; dialogue. Earlier on Thursday, he had already indicated flexibility regarding the deadline during a White House cabinet meeting, stating that it might be strictly enforced only if envoys like Steve Witkoff informed him that negotiations were not progressing smoothly.
The White House is frequently switching between diplomatic efforts and military deterrence. On one hand, Trump has directed senior officials such as JD Vance, Marco Rubio, and Jared Kushner to mediate a 15-point peace plan through third parties; on the other hand, the Pentagon has ordered the deployment of approximately 10,000 elite U.S. troops and 5 warships to the Middle East. Iran has denied direct negotiations but confirmed contact with third countries.
Regarding the market's sharp reaction, Steven Grey, Chief Investment Officer at Grey Value Management, believes it is not irrational behavior.
&#34;The market is not becoming neurotic; this is the normal behavior of an efficient market facing extreme uncertainty,&#34; he said. &#34;People are shifting direction with astonishing speed, or simply choosing to wait and see. The market's confusion is completely rational.&#34;
Currently, many Wall Street institutions are choosing to stand pat, to avoid being caught off guard by the White House's next social media post.
Risk Disclosure and Disclaimer
Markets are risky, and investment requires caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinion, view, or conclusion in this article is appropriate for their specific circumstances. Investment based on this is at the user's own risk.

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US stocks experienced a sharp sell-off due to escalating Middle East conflicts. Trump announced an extension of the deadline for striking Iranian energy facilities by 10 days to facilitate ceasefire negotiations. This news triggered market volatility, with the dollar index rising and oil prices falling in the short term. On Thursday, the S&P 500 index fell 1.7%, marking its largest single-day drop in six months, and the Nasdaq index declined 2.4%. The bond market also suffered, with the 10-year Treasury yield rising, indicating investor fatigue

- U.S. President Trump extended the deadline for military action against Iran's energy facilities by ten days amid escalating Middle East conflict concerns, aiming to facilitate ceasefire negotiations.  
- The U.S. stock market reacted sharply, with the S&P 500 index declining 1.7% and bond yields rising, reflecting investor anxiety over inflation driven by soaring oil prices.  
- Meanwhile, Brent Crude oil prices surged 5.7% to $108.01 per barrel, prompting market expectations for a shift in Federal Reserve policy regarding interest rates.

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Posted 11 Minutes After Market Close! U.S. Stocks Suffer "Worst Day Since Iran War," Trump "Immediately" Extends "Negotiation Time" by 10 Days