Dow Sinks 421 Points, Oil Surges To $104 As Donald Trump Threatens To 'Hit' Iran 'Extremely Hard' Within Weeks

dollar index was at 99.847, up 0.30%, and Asian markets were sharply lower with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 1.53% to 52,917.64 and South Korea’s KOSPI tumbling 3.52% to 5,285.97; during his national address on Wednesday, Trump said, "We're going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks," adding, "We're going to bring them back to the stone ages where they belong," and stated that if negotiations fail, the U.S. could target Iran's power grid and possibly its oil infrastructure, noting, "We have not hit their oil, even though that's the easiest target of all, because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding, but we could hit it and it would be gone," while despite the aggressive tone he said diplomatic talks are ongoing; Trump also highlighted confidence in the U.S. economy, attempting to ease concerns about rising fuel prices amid the conflict by arguing that strong domestic production driven by his "drill baby, drill" approach ensures ample energy supply and that the U.S. produces more oil and gas than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined, with output exceeding 13 million barrels per day in 2025 compared to over 9.5 million barrels daily for each of Russia and Saudi Arabia according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration cited by the Associated Press, while earlier in the day he posted on Truth Social that "Iran's New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE," adding conflicting signals that increased market uncertainty.