Stocks capitulate as investors tire of Trumps Fantasy-Land

Thursday’s session was a mirror image of Wednesday’s brief relief rally. Iran formally rejected Washington’s 15-point peace framework, submitted its own counter-conditions, and maintained attacks on Israel — while Trump simultaneously extended the energy-attack pause by another 10 days to April 6 and claimed talks were going “very well.” Markets didn’t believe him. The S&P 500 dropped 1.7% to 6,478, heading for a fifth consecutive weekly loss — its longest losing streak in almost two years. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 21,408, down 2.4% on the day and confirmed in correction territory, more than 10% below its October 29 record. Oil surged, bonds sold off, gold fell as the dollar surged, and crypto cracked. For the ASX, SPI futures are down 91 points or 1.1% to 8,471 — and that figure doesn’t yet fully reflect the news that Cyclone Narelle has knocked out WA’s three biggest LNG plants overnight.S&P 500 fell 1.7% to 6,478 — fifth straight weekly loss; Nasdaq Composite entered correction territory at 21,408, down more than 10% from its October 29 record high.Brent crude surged 5.3% to $107.64, WTI +4.2% to $94.15 — Iran rejected the US 15-point ceasefire proposal while Trump extended the energy-attack pause to April 6.Gold fell 3.2% to $4,363.93 as the dollar strengthened; US 10-year yields rose 9bps to 4.42%; the 7-year Treasury auction drew the weakest demand since June 2025.Meta Platforms dropped 8% on two US liability verdicts; memory stocks (Micron, Western Digital, Seagate, SanDisk) fell 6%–11% on a Google AI compression algorithm breakthrough.More than $4.6 billion of private credit capital is now trapped behind redemption gates; Apollo and Blue Owl admitted the industry “could have done a better job” explaining liquidity restrictions.ASX SPI futures -91pts (-1.1%) to 8,471; Cyclone Narelle has shut Gorgon, Wheatstone and North West Shelf, pushing global LNG supply disruption above 30% simultaneously with the Iran shock.