U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 26, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
Hello, my name is Holly Ellyatt. I’m writing to you from London. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.
Global markets will be on edge today after the White House announced that US President Donald Trump will give a speech late Wednesday night to “bring the nation an important update on Iran.”
The US and Israeli military campaign against Iran has been underway for just over a month, but it is clear that war fatigue may be creeping in at the top, with President Trump reportedly telling aides that he is prepared to end the war without reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking of which, the president on Tuesday once again criticized European allies for not getting involved in America’s war, ordering Britain and France to “get their own oil” from waters blocked by Iran.
What you need to know today
If you want to hear President Trump’s Wednesday speech giving the latest on the Iran war, listen slowly. The speech is scheduled to take place at 9pm ET. That is 2am London time on Thursday.
The speech was welcome news for markets and the public concerned about the protracted conflict and the possibility of an endgame, with the president indicating that both a peace deal and escalation using U.S. ground forces could be on the cards.
President Trump said Tuesday he expected U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iran within “two to three weeks.”
President Trump told reporters at the White House: “There’s no reason to do so, so we’re leaving.” “We’ll be leaving soon.” He also appeared to reject the idea that a negotiated settlement had to be reached to end the war, suggesting that the United States could simply declare victory and end hostilities.
Global markets certainly like the idea that the war will end quickly. Asia-Pacific markets rallied overnight, but European stock exchanges are expected to rebound when trading opens on Wednesday. U.S. stock futures also rose on expectations that President Trump is seeking an exit to the war that is sending global energy prices soaring. Oil prices rose again overnight.
We’ll have to wait and see what the president says later, but remember that this war never had much support from American voters and the majority wanted him to focus on domestic issues, i.e. “America First”?
Speaking of voting, the president signed an executive order Tuesday cracking down on mail-in voting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections in November. The move was not well received by voting rights advocates, who warned that it could disenfranchise millions of Americans.
Today is April Fool’s Day, so be careful of news that is too outlandish. That’s becoming more difficult these days.
— Holly Ellyatt
And finally…
Oracle cuts thousands of jobs in latest round of job cuts as AI spending continues to grow
Oracle has begun telling employees it will cut thousands of jobs, CNBC has confirmed, as the software maker grapples with a plunging stock price over huge capital commitments to build out AI infrastructure.
While Oracle’s core business has been hit by market panic over competitive risks from generative artificial intelligence models, the company has also faced pressure from investors over the amount of debt it is raising for AI investments and declining cash flow.
— Jordan Novett, Seema Modi
