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The Jerusalem Post (and later others) said that Iran's parliamentary speaker was the one doing negotiations.

He's taken to twitter to say this (in English):

Iranian people demand complete and remorseful punishment of the aggressors. All Irainan officials stand firmly behind their supreme leader and people until this goal is achieved. No negotiations have been held with the US, and fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped.

Now we can take this all at face value or:

1) He's not negotiating directly with the US, as some have claimed but is speaking via Pakistan, Turkey and other intermediaries

2) He's lying because it's unpopular (and dangerous) in Iran to be seen…

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is reportedly the person doing the negotiations with the White House about ending the war but the foreign ministry is denying it. They say they've had no talks with the US.

It's hard to know who is telling the truth in any of this. Trump said that communications in the country are disrupted so that could be part of the issue.

Right now the market is fairly optimistic on all of it but every day the market is going to want to see some signs of progress or at least constructive dialogue. Iran's IRGC has also promised a fresh military surprise in the day ahead, though that kind of talk is often hollow.

We're deep into the fog of war at this point but I think we can safely conclude that Trump…

The market is further coming around to the conclusion that peace talks are taking place, or that even if they're not -- Trump wants the bombs to stop falling and oil prices to come down.

There is always the risk that Iran wants to keep the Strait closed and press for a better deal but the US has the power to kill leadership and that's a powerful motivator to make a deal.

Whatever the driver, the S&P 500 is up 2% to a session high, or 134 points to 6639.

Other markets:

• Nasdaq +2.3%
• Russell 2000 +3.0%
• DJIA +2.1%
• Toronto TSX +1.8%

The winners today are led by travel stocks and those who are heavy users of fuel, including miners along with housing-related stocks due ot a falling likelihood of rate hikes. There is also the unwinding of the recession…

• Prior was +0.3%

The US Census Bureau released its monthly construction spending report on February 27, 2026, covering data through December 2025. The release was delayed from its original schedule due to the 43-day government shutdown in late 2025.

Construction spending in December 2025 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,168.8 billion, up 0.3% from November's $2,163.1 billion. This marked the first monthly increase after three consecutive months of declines. Despite the uptick, the December figure was 0.4% below the year-ago level, and full-year 2025 spending totaled $2,164.4 billion, down 1.4% from $2,194.8 billion in 2024.

The monthly gain was driven by a rebound in single-family homebuilding and continued strength in…

Comments from Trump:

"We have had very, very strong talks. We'll see where they lead. We have major points of agreement... They went, I would say perfectly. I would say that if they carry through with that, it'll end that problem, that conflict."

• On the possibility of troops: We don't talk strategy
• I don't think Iran is getting any oil money
• I want to have as much oil in the system as possible
• It's very easy to take enriched uranium ourselves if we have a deal
• US talked to Iranian top respected leader
• Talk to top leadership
• Hope to meet with Iran soon
• Will talk today probably by phone
• They want to make a deal, we want to make a deal too
• If Iran carries through, will end the conflict
• I think Iran was an imminent threat

Iran would have had a nuclear…

• Deal with Iran could be in 5 days or sooner
• Not sure what Iran's media is talking about (regarding no talks)
• Talks with Witkoff, Kishner and their counterparts

The market likes what its hearing and is willing to bet on a deal.

This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

From Axios reporter Barak Ravid:

Turkey, Egypt, and Pakistan have been passing messages between the U.S. and Iran over the past two days in an effort to de-escalate, U.S. source saysSenior officials from the three countries held separate talks with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the U.S. source says"The mediation is ongoing and making progress. The discussion is about ending the war and resolving all outstanding issues. We hope to have answers soon," the source says

I tend to think Ravid as a mouthpiece for the White House in this war.

The important thing here is that he's trying to establish that there were actually talks. That said, it doesn't really push back on the idea that others contacted…

Iran's Tasnim news agency reaffirms that "there are no talks", adding that US president Trump's latest comments on the Middle East situation are all part of "psychological warfare". That as the outlet cites a senior Iranian security official. At the same time, the official says that the Strait of Hormuz "will not return to pre-war conditions" so long as this "psychological warfare" continues.

At the same time, we're also getting headlines now that Israel is conducting strikes in the heart of Tehran. So, is there really any material de-escalation?

Besides that, Iran's foreign ministry is also stating that there have been no talks with Washington and is accusing Trump of buying time in a bid to allow regional de-escalation efforts to…

Headlines:

• Big turn in markets as Trump delivers another TACO moment
• Risk appetite returns with a bang as Trump trades missiles for peace talks
• Iran media reportedly says there has been no direct or indirect contact with Trump
• UAE resumes operations at its largest gas processing facility after shutdown last week
• ECB's Kazimir: Will not hesitate to act if inflation was at risk of staying above target
• Japan's largest union group Rengo sees average wage hike of 5.26% this fiscal year

Markets:

• WTI crude oil down 5% to $92.97 currently, after falling from $100 to $84 on the headlines
• US 10-year Treasury yields down 1 bps to 4.38% currently, after falling from 4.44% to 4.31%
• S&P 500 futures rebound strongly to be up 1.3% on the day, was as low as down 1%…

Iran's local media is not offering any confirmation to Trump's comments it would seem. This via key energy market correspondent and head of Kpler's energy market and OPEC+ intel, Amena Bakr, on Twitter/X. She is a well reputable source in the oil market for all things, so just be aware of the situation here. The tweet:

"IRANIAN MEDIA SAYS THERE WAS NO DIRECT OR INDIRECT CONTACT WITH TRUMP AND CLAIMS HE WITHDREW AFTER THREATENING TO ATTACK WEST ASIA ENERGY FACILITIES."

So yeah, who's telling the truth here?

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.

You have to wonder, what was the past three weeks all for then? US president Trump is now saying that they've had "very good and productive" talks with Iran to put an end to all hostilities in the Middle East. And that there will be a ceasefire of sorts now for a period of five days as negotiations continue during this time period.

It is pretty clear that we've reached a threshold where Trump no longer has the appetite to keep the war going. Or at least not in a way that was in the last few weeks. Right from the start, it already led to all the things he did not like whatsoever in markets. As mentioned at the time, it had everything on the list:

1. Higher oil prices ✔
2. Lower stock market ✔
3. Weaker conviction by the Fed to cut rates amid inflation…

From the man himself:

"I AM PLEASE TO REPORT THAT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE COUNTRY OF IRAN, HAVE HAD, OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS, VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. BASED ON THE TENOR AND TONE OF THESE IN DEPTH, DETAILED, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, WITCH WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK, I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD, SUBJECT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE ONGOING MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP"

What a complete turnaround in market sentiment to what we're…