# Oil falls almost 5 percent and United States stocks rally after Trump says Iran talks resumed, which Tehran denies

Brent crude settled near $84 a barrel and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 693 points, while Iran's foreign ministry said no negotiations with Washington are taking place.

- Published: 2026-08-04T05:17:48.443Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-08-04/oil-falls-almost-5-percent-and-united-states-stocks-rally-af
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: markets
- Sources: [The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/west-asia-war-us-iran-strikes-tehran-washington-talks-donald-trump-peace-deal-live-updates-august-4-2026/article71303715.ece), [The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/iran-denies-negotiating-with-us-after-trump-announces-talks/article71302731.ece), [The Japan Times](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08/04/asia-pacific/bangladesh-seafarer-gulf-war-trap/)

President Donald Trump said he had called off what he described as a major strike on Iran to allow diplomacy, and that negotiations were already under way. "We are talking right now," he said, according to [The Hindu's running account](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/west-asia-war-us-iran-strikes-tehran-washington-talks-donald-trump-peace-deal-live-updates-august-4-2026/article71303715.ece). Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, contradicted him. "At present, we are not having any negotiations with the US," he said, adding that Tehran is talking to Oman about an understanding on the safety of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The Hindu notes that [this sequence of announcement and denial has repeated through the conflict](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/iran-denies-negotiating-with-us-after-trump-announces-talks/article71302731.ece). Trump then called Iran's leadership duplicitous.

Markets priced the pause rather than the dispute. Brent crude fell about 4.7 percent to roughly $83.80 a barrel, and [United States indexes closed near their highs](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/8/4/us-stocks-near-record-high-oil-falls-as-trump-claims-iran-talks-underway), with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up about 693 points at 53,178.41, the S&P 500 up 1.48 percent at 7,600.50 and the Nasdaq Composite up about 2.1 percent at 25,913.9.

Precious metals moved in the opposite direction as the premium tied to war risk fell. Gold futures [opened Monday around $4,135 a troy ounce](https://finance.yahoo.com/personal-finance/investing/article/gold-prices-today-monday-august-3-2026-gold-prices-open-higher-after-us-pauses-planned-airstrikes-121655731.html) with spot metal near $4,046, and silver traded close to $58 an ounce. Both eased through the session as the immediate threat of strikes receded.

The physical costs of the conflict do not fall as quickly as the price of a barrel. The Japan Times recounts the case of Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, a Bangladeshi seafarer who spent [115 days stranded in the Gulf](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08/04/asia-pacific/bangladesh-seafarer-gulf-war-trap/), rationing food and water for his crew while missiles passed overhead. Insurance, crewing and routing costs built up over months of war do not fall by 5 percent because a strike was postponed.

## What this means

Crude is trading on the timing of American strike decisions rather than on barrels produced, so each announced pause transfers value from energy producers and hedged shipping operators to airlines, refiners of imported crude and equity indexes sensitive to inflation expectations. Because Washington and Tehran describe the same events differently, the risk premium can return within a single session on one statement. The open question is whether Oman produces an actual shipping understanding, which would lower Gulf freight and insurance costs, or whether the cycle of claim and denial continues and the premium rebuilds.

## What to watch

- Whether Oman announces a written arrangement on Hormuz transit safety, because that is the concrete step that would cut war-risk insurance for tanker traffic.
- Whether either Washington or Tehran names a venue and date for talks, which would separate genuine diplomacy from statements made for leverage.
- Gulf war-risk insurance rates and tanker charter costs in coming weeks, which show whether shipowners believe the pause is durable even when crude falls.