Wall Street's main indexes are rising nearly 2% Monday as risk appetite returned to markets after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would order the military to postpone strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure following "productive conversations" with Tehran.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 844.12 points, or 1.85% as of 10:05 a.m. EST. The S&P 500 rose 110.25 points, or 1.85%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 413.95 points, or 1.91%.

Japan’s stock market plunged roughly 4% in a single trading session on March 23, 2026, with the Nikkei closing at about 50,900. Asia bore the brunt of the selloff, with multiple markets closing down 2%–5%.

The decline was driven by global volatility tied to escalating Middle East tensions and rising energy prices, hitting exporters and risk-sensitive sectors hardest.

Other global markets still trading have staged a sharp recovery after the U.S. president's comments, with Europe's STOXX 600 and precious metals turning positive, while oil prices fell, marking a significant improvement in risk appetite.

Markets had been trading lower after Iran's statement that it would attack Israel's power plants and plants supplying U.S. bases in the Gulf if Trump carried out his threat to "obliterate" Iran's power network, the country's Revolutionary Guards said.

"This is obviously a postponement, not a complete ceasefire, and we will see what happens from here. What's done is still not undone, so the impact has yet to be seen, but obviously, markets are breathing a sigh of relief," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG Markets.

The CBOE Volatility Index — Wall Street's fear gauge — fell in premarket trading after hitting its highest level in two weeks earlier — and was last down 3.99 points at 22.79.

Wall Street's main indexes logged their fourth week of declines on Friday, with the Nasdaq posting its biggest weekly drop since early February.

Futures tracking the Russell 2000 index rose 4.7%, after being down more than 1% earlier. The small-cap index, sensitive to higher interest rates, ended more than 10% below its record close of January 22 on Friday, confirming it had been in correction territory.