New York | Stock markets are surging worldwide, and oil prices are plunging back toward USD 90 per barrel after US President Donald Trump pulled back from his threat to force a “whole civilisation” to die in the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 leaped 2.7 per cent after Trump, Iran and Israel agreed to a two-week ceasefire, just hours before a deadline Trump had set for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil to flow freely again from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,350 points, and the Nasdaq composite surged 3.4 per cent following even bigger gains in European and Asian markets.