(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 31 mar - US shares were trading sharply higher as investors reacted to a report that US president Donald Trump is ready to end the war in Iran without a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump told aides he was willing to call a stop to the war even if the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil trade, remained largely shut.

In other comments also suggesting hostilities might be nearing an end, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that Iran had been 'essentially decimated". "The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!" he said.

But signals elsewhere remained mixed. Trump made threats against Iranian energy infrastructure while overnight a Kuwaiti oil tanker anchored off Dubai was hit by a drone.

On the data front, according to the Conference Board US consumer confidence rose to 91.8 in March from 91.0 in February, surprising economists who were expecting the index to fall to 87.8.

At 1735 GMT, the Dow Jones was up 963.87 points, or 2.13%, at 46,180.01 points.

The S&P 500 was 158.37 points, or 2.56%, higher at 6,506.27 points.

The Nasdaq was gaining 746.95 points, or 3.61%, at 21,543.98.

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(RADIOCOR) 31-03-26 19:57:14 (0793) 5 NNNN