TOYOTA-BRANDED VEHICLE SALES IN JAPAN FELL 6.8% ON YEAR IN MAR

- Stock futures rose on Wednesday, while oil prices declined to start the month, as hope grew that an end to the U.S.-Iran war was on the horizon. - Trump said in a post on Truth Social Wednesday morning that Iran’s president “has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!” However, he added that the U.S. will consider the offer when the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, and clear.” - Retail sales rose 0.3% in February, better than forecast - US private payrolls rose 62,000 in March, above expectations of 40,000, signaling a stabilizing labor market, according to ADP - Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has threatened attacks on a swath of U.S. tech companies with operations in the Middle East - Tuesday’s broad market rally lifted bitcoin into positive territory to close out March trading. - Trump is set to deliver an address on the Iran war on Wednesday night, the White House said. This will come after Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. will “be leaving [Iran] very soon.” - Asia-Pacific markets rebounded on Wednesday, with major markets mostly closing in positive territory on hopes that the Iran war, which has crippled energy supplies to the region, could end soon. - Of the 11 GICS sectors, energy was the only one to close March in positive territory. Month to date, the sector rose 10.3%. It closed the quarter with a 37.2% surge. - March’s biggest laggards were industrial stocks, down 8.5%, followed by the health care and consumer staples sectors, off 8.3% and 7.7%, respectively.

ISRAELI OFFICIAL: COLLAPSE OF TALKS MEANS ATTACKING TEHRAN'S OIL FACILITIES