Wall Street is falling as Trump threatens to destroy Iran’s power plants and bridges at noon

Wednesday, 8 April 2026

Market summary

In the United States stocks oil prices are rising and stocks are falling as the countdown ticks toward the latest deadline set by President Donald Trump in the war on Iran.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% as Trump threatened that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Iran does not meet his deadline at 12pm to open the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials, meanwhile, urged young people to form human chains to protect power plants that Trump has threatened to bomb.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4% and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% lower amid deep uncertainty about when the fighting might end.

The moves were sharper in the oil market, where prices have spiked because the war has snarled the production and transportation of crude in the Persian Gulf. Much of that oil exits the gulf through the Strait of Hormuz to customers around the world, but Iran has blocked it to enemies.

The price for a barrel of benchmark US crude climbed 1.3% to US$113.82. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 0.3% to US$110.06 and was well above the US$70 level from before the war in late February.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the day down 1.01% amid the mounting geopolitical concerns the gulf.

Asian markets ended their day mostly higher led by South Korea’s Kospi rosing 0.82%, India’s benchmark Nifty 50 was up 0.68%, and Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.3%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.70% and China’s mainland CSI 300 closed flat.

Back home the S&P/NZX50 rallied to close 1.3% higher after the long weekend.

Topping the gainers, Blis Technologies ended the day 13.33% higher, TruScreen was up 6.25%, Skellerup rose 5.58%, cinema group Vista added 5.18%, IkeGPS was up 4.92%, and Air New Zealand gained 4.6% to close at 45.5 cents. The majority Government owned airline’s shares have collapsed from 57.5c a share to 41.5c since the outbreak of the Iran war.

The decliners were led by, KMD Brands plunged another 14.77% after the retailer of outdoor clothing and equipment through brands Kathmandu, Rip Curl and Oboz announced on Tuesday it was embarking on heavily discounted offer to raise $65.3 million in equity, after making a $13.1m loss in the first six months of its current financial year.

Elsewhere, Bremworth lost 12.10%, Locate Technologies declined 6.25%, Rua Gold was down 4.49%, Foley Wines lost 4.42%, and ArborGen slipped 4.26%.

In Sydney, the S&P/ASX200 closed up sharply on Tuesday, gaining 1.74% led by Guzman Y Bomez and NextDC, up 18.55% and 11.9% respectively.

While we slept

JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon has warned in his annual shareholder letter that a “resilient” US economy could face renewed inflation pressures if the war in Iran disrupts global energy markets. He also warned that sustained inflation could force the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer, posing risks to the broader economy and financial system.

Activist investor Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management is offering to purchase Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny's music label, Universal Music Group, for about US$64 billion (NZ$112b) in a cash-and-stock deal. The proposed deal would involve Universal Music merging with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings, an acquisition company approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2023.

What’s up today

This morning in The Post, Rob Stock reports on some driving schools lifting lesson prices as the price of fuel bites. Tom Pullar-Strecker looks at why our diesel tanks are less than half full, and if trucking rules could be eased as diesel prices surge. Dita De Boni talks to a visiting British economist who says New Zealand’s much vaunted “green shoots of growth” at the end of last year was not real growth but a “pig in a python”; Employment lawyer Susan Hornsby- Geluk cautions against “careerfishing” - the systemic fabrication of qualifications to find work; and Meridian chief executive Mike Roan gives his thoughts on what NZ’s electricity system really needs.

Rua Gold will hold hits its annual general meeting and a special general meeting, and the Household Labour Force Survey estimated working-age population for the March quarter is due out.