NEW YORK (AP) — A cautious relief flowed through financial markets Monday after President Donald Trump said the U.S. has talked with Iran about a possible end to their war.

Oil prices eased, and stock prices jumped on Wall Street following severe losses taken elsewhere in the world before Trump’s announcement.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude fell 10.9% to settle at $99.94, down from nearly $120 at one point last week, after Trump said the United States and Iran held productive talks the last two days “regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.” The S&P 500 rallied 1.7% toward its best day since the war began.

The market’s moves were tentative, though, after Iran denied such talks took place and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said that “fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets” in a posting on X. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went from a surge of nearly 1,135 points during the morning to a much more modest gain of 540 before accelerating back to a climb of nearly 870, with an hour remaining in trading.

Over the weekend, Trump had threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it doesn’t open up the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. The narrow waterway off Iran’s coast has become a sore point for the economy because a sharp slowdown in traffic there is preventing oil tankers from leaving the Persian Gulf to supply customers around the world.

Trump said Monday that he is postponing attacks on Iranian power plants for five days to allow talks to continue. Quickly afterward, though, Iranian state media cited Iranian officials as denying any talks like Trump described and said Trump had backed down “following Iran’s firm warning.”

The price of Brent crude fell as low as $96 immediately after Trump announced the postponement but quickly recovered Benchmark U.S. crude had a similar reaction, immediately dropping toward $84 per barrel before yo-yoing back above $92 and then settling at $88.13.