CNBC Daily Open: Trump hints Middle East conflict might end soon

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell on February 18, 2026 in New York City.

Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty Images

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			Taken from CNBC’s Daily Open, our international markets newsletter — Subscribe today_

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Oil prices declined in extended trading Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said in a phone conversation with CBS News that he was considering seizing control of the Strait of Hormuz. He added that “the war is very complete, pretty much,” after which U.S. key indexes rebounded from earlier losses.

U.S. stock futures slipped Monday night as traders assess Trump’s comments — who also said in a press conference on Monday that the war will end “very soon” — and as they monitor the latest developments out of Iran.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical chokepoint that’s been effectively closed, with a spokesperson for Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmail Baghaei, warning that oil tankers passing through the waterway “must be very careful.”  Baghaei also told CNBC’s Dan Murphy that Iran was not responsible for the war, and targeting U.S. “military bases and assets” in the region was “legitimate under international law.”

The oil shock on Monday spurred South Korea to impose a price cap on fuel products for the first time in 30 years. President Lee Jae Myung said the government will explore ways to diversify its energy import sources, according to a TV broadcast, as gasoline prices in the country surge.

Amid the geopolitical and energy turmoil, people have been placing bets on the Iran war, prompting a backlash and raising questions about the red lines prediction markets should enforce. Last week, Polymarket reportedly posted on X the odds of a nuclear detonation by year-end, drawing online outcry, before it deleted the post and removed nuclear-related markets.

And finally…

There’s another energy market that may get hit harder than oil by Strait of Hormuz closure

Oil prices jumped Monday with traffic in the Strait of Hormuz at a near standstill, but the longer-term implications of the Strait’s closure may be more extreme for the liquefied natural gas market. That’s in part because it’s more difficult to move than crude oil, and LNG production is more concentrated.

Roughly 20% of global LNG flows through the Strait — the majority of which is exported from Qatar — and global gas prices are surging after the country last week halted output following an Iranian drone attack.

— Pippa Stevens

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