March 24 Overseas Market Headlines: US-Iran Negotiations Descend into Rashomon Dispute as Truth Remains Unclear, Triggering Market Volatility; Wall Street Confirms Trump Eager to End War

Major Headlines of Global Financial Media from Last Night to This Morning:

1. Shocking Confirmation! Trump: US-Iran Talks Are “Productive” Iran: No Dialogue at All

2. Meloni Admits Defeat in Italy Judicial Reform Referendum

3. Apple Announces 2026 Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Teasing “Major Advances in AI”

4. US and TotalEnergies to Redirect About $1 Billion Offshore Wind Lease Funds to Oil and Gas Sector

5. Whether US-Iran Negotiations Are Real or Fake, Wall Street Has Clear Signals from Trump’s Five-Minute Surge

6. Castle Securities Stock Strategy Head Predicts Short Squeeze Will Boost S&P 500 Index

Shocking Confirmation! Trump: US-Iran Talks Are “Productive” Iran: No Dialogue at All

According to insiders, Donald Trump has decided to abandon threats to destroy Iran’s power infrastructure, after US allies and Gulf countries privately warned Trump that implementing such threats would carry huge risks.

On Monday, the US president announced a five-day delay of the originally planned strike, stating that new talks with Tehran have begun, which he believes could lead to an agreement and de-escalate the conflict.

He revealed that negotiations between an unnamed Iranian official, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and advisor Steve Wittekoff started on Saturday and continued through Sunday. According to Trump, Tehran has agreed to hand over nuclear materials and will not restart its nuclear program.

However, Iran’s Foreign Ministry denies any dialogue with the US, with Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posting on social media on Monday that the US president’s statements are “fake news used to manipulate financial and oil markets.”

Meloni Admits Defeat in Italy Judicial Reform Referendum

Italian Prime Minister Meloni has acknowledged defeat in a nationwide referendum aimed at reforming the judicial system, which has become a vote of confidence in her personally.

Italy’s Interior Ministry stated that, with about 78% of votes counted, approximately 54.1% of voters cast “No” votes, rejecting Meloni’s reform plan. About 45.9% voted “Yes.”

This result marks Meloni’s biggest setback since taking office at the end of 2022 and represents her first loss in a national election. As she prepares for the upcoming general elections, it could weaken her ruling authority.

“We will continue forward, as always, with the same sense of responsibility, determination, and respect for Italy,” Meloni said in a social media statement. “It’s still regrettable that we couldn’t seize the opportunity to modernize Italy.”

Apple Announces 2026 Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Teasing “Major Advances in AI”

Apple announced on Monday that the next Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will be held online from June 8 to 12, with an in-person event at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California.

The iPhone maker said this year’s conference will focus on “major advances in AI,” along with updates to iOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and new software and developer tools. Apple typically unveils new software and features for its entire device lineup at this event.

US and TotalEnergies to Redirect About $1 Billion Offshore Wind Lease Funds to Oil and Gas Sector

US and French energy giant TotalEnergies announced Monday that they will redirect approximately $1 billion of offshore wind lease funds into oil and natural gas production within the US.

This agreement marks a new blow to the US offshore wind industry, which has seen billions of dollars in projects disrupted during Trump’s presidency.

Trump previously stated that he considers wind turbines ugly, costly, and inefficient. His administration has taken measures to boost domestic fossil fuel production.

The US Department of the Interior said in a statement that the US government will refund TotalEnergies’ approximately $1 billion offshore wind lease payments, and that TotalEnergies has committed not to develop any new offshore wind projects in the US.

Whether US-Iran negotiations are real or fake, Wall Street has already received clear signals from Trump’s five-minute surge

At 7:05 a.m. Eastern Time, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social to temporarily halt the threat of bombing Iran’s energy infrastructure. Within minutes, oil prices plummeted over 13%, US Treasury yields dropped sharply, and traders hinted that US stocks would surge at open.

Although Iran quickly refuted Trump’s claims within an hour, denying any negotiations are underway, Wall Street had already received a clear message: At least Trump is eager to end this war, which he initiated over three weeks ago and has pushed the global economy to the brink of crisis.

“If this issue isn’t resolved within the next 7 to 10 days, the global economy could face a shutdown similar to during the pandemic,” said Marko Papic, chief strategist at BCA Research. “Today’s statement indicates Trump realizes the real economy could collapse dramatically.”

Castle Securities Stock Strategy Head Predicts Short Squeeze Will Boost S&P 500 Index

Scott Rubner, head of stock and derivatives strategies at Castle Securities, said that the record short positions in the US stock market face liquidation risk, and a rebound is likely. Hedge funds and systematic strategy funds are expected to be the main buyers in the next wave.

In an interview, Rubner stated, “Given the current massive short positions, if geopolitical tensions ease, the market could rebound strongly.” He believes this situation makes the market highly sensitive to the next positive catalyst, but added that this is not a call to “buy stocks today.”

This scenario reflects how some professional investors are responding to recent volatility. Many hedge funds—especially multi-strategy firms using shorting products for tactical reductions—have not sold their core holdings but are hedging downside risk by heavily shorting ETFs.