Stocks closed higher on Monday, recovering from sharp losses earlier in the day as markets whipsawed in response to developments in the U.S.-Israeli war<\/a> with Iran.<\/p>\n The dramatic reversal on Wall Street came after U.S. oil prices<\/a> turned lower on Monday afternoon. Crude prices settled at about $85 per barrel, unwinding a surge hours earlier that had reached as high as nearly $120 a barrel.<\/p>\n The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 230 points, or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 jumped 0.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 1.3%.<\/p>\n The Dow had fallen as much as 750 points on Monday morning, before reversing those losses in the afternoon.<\/p>\n A fireball rises from the site of an Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 9, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Ibrahim Amro\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Oil prices fell into the red and stocks raced into the green after comments made by President Donald Trump to a CBS reporter, who posted on X<\/a> that the president had said “the war is very complete, pretty much.”<\/p>\n Crude markets began to calm on Monday morning amid a meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers about a possible coordinated release from their respective strategic petroleum reserves.<\/p>\n The G7 announced on Monday its decision to forego a release of reserve oil at this time, but traders appeared to view the group as willing to take such action.<\/p>\n Still, indexes fell worldwide on Monday as the jump in oil prices rippled through global markets. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index plunged 5.2%, while pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.6%.<\/p>\n U.S. crude oil prices hovered at about $85 per barrel on Monday afternoon, which marked a roughly 6% decline from a day earlier. Since a month ago, however, oil prices have soared 34%.<\/p>\n The average price of a gallon of gasoline<\/a> in the U.S. soared to $3.47 on Monday from $2.99 a week earlier, AAA<\/a> said.<\/p>\n In a social media post on Sunday night, President Donald Trump downplayed the rise in oil prices.<\/p>\n “Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!” Trump said.<\/p>\n Soon after the war with Iran began on Feb. 28, U.S.-Israeli forces killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. His son Mojtaba Khamenei<\/a> was chosen on Sunday to succeed him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Ali](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/f0b9b1aa-7ff0-4e75-b591-e7ef185fd4b0\/beirut-1-gty-jef-260309_1773058622630_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"Ali")
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