Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Lunch, our afternoon update on today's market action, news, and analysis.

Good afternoon. Today is Monday, March 23rd, and I'm your host, Kim Khan. Our top story so far,

President Donald Trump flipped the market narrative this morning, signaling a quick end to the war in Iran

and potential

joint control of the Strait of Hormuz. Risk-off sentiment reversed sharply. Equities in

crypto rallied while Treasury yields on oil fell. Odds of a Fed rate hike as soon as October

evaporated. But the situation remains fluid, with Iran pushing back on the president's assertions

that negotiations are advancing. Here's what we know. In posts and interviews, Trump said U.S. envoys were in talks with Iranian

counterparts and claimed 15 points of agreement, including that Iran would not pursue a nuclear weapon.

Iran's foreign ministry denied that any talks are taking place and accused Washington of trying

to buy time, according to Bloomberg.

An Israeli official also said there's no sign of an imminent end to the war. As one analyst quipped, it takes two to taco. Here's the market reaction. Stock swung from pre-market losses

to strong gains. All three major averages are up more than 2%, though trading remains choppy.

Treasury yields are retreating with the two-year

back below 3.85%. Oil is down sharply, with double-digit percentage declines in both WTI and

Brent. Sentiment is moving with every headline in post, but Michael Brown, strategist at Pepperstone,

said the signal may matter more than the noise. Have there been talks? Who knows?

Doesn't matter, he wrote.

The signal is that Trump has pulled back on his ultimatum,

is seeking de-escalation, and appears to be looking for an off-ramp.

That feels like the most important piece right now.

Among active stocks, draft kings and Flutter Entertainment are rallying

...