Global financial markets steadied after U.S. President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire that ended 12 days of hostilities between Israel and Iran. The truce, announced late Tuesday, reduced fears of a wider supply shock in the Middle East and revived risk appetite across assets. In equities, the S&P 500 hovered less than 1% below its record high in Wednesday trading, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose about 0.5%. Israeli shares pushed to fresh peaks. Europe’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.74%, giving back part of Tuesday’s rally as investors weighed the durability of the ceasefire. Oil, which had endured its sharpest two-day fall since 2022, retraced some losses. Brent crude first sank to $66.86 a barrel—roughly 4% below pre-war levels—before recovering to the $68 range. West Texas Intermediate hovered near $65. Industry data showing a 4.23-million-barrel drop in U.S. stockpiles underscored firm demand even as supply-disruption fears eased. In fixed income, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield held around 4.28% as investors awaited the second day of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony. Powell reiterated that policymakers remain cautious while assessing the inflation impact of recent U.S. tariffs and the conflict’s aftermath, with futures pricing in the possibility of rate cuts later this year.