CNBC Daily Open: Hegseth on the defensive

Hello, this is Leonie Kidd writing to you from London. Welcome to another edition of CNBC's Daily Open.

Social media has been awash with memes showing how many conflicting statements have been made about the war in Iran over the last 24 hours. That confusion is playing out in the oil markets today.

The uncertainty will be exacerbated by a report suggesting the U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could have tried to benefit financially from privileged information about the timing of the attacks on Iran.

It seems investors are watching from the sidelines in early trade to see what the day brings.

A broker for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to make a large investment in major defense companies in the lead up to the Iran war, according to the Financial Times. The Pentagon has dismissed the report.

The Financial Times reported Tuesday that Hegseth's broker at banking giant Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February about making a multimillion-dollar investment in its iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF. The war broke out on Feb. 28.

The story adds to a slew of developments over the past 24 hours, with conflicting statements from U.S. President Donald Trump sending oil prices all over the place.

After initially driving higher in early trade, both WTI and Brent pulled back after Trump told his aides that he was willing to end U.S. operations against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remained shut, as forcing Tehran to reopen the oil chokepoint could extend the conflict, The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday stateside.

Earlier on Monday, Trump had threatened to destroy Iran's oil wells, its export hub of Kharg Island, and power plants if a peace deal is not reached "shortly."

"Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately 'Open for Business,' we will conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet 'touched,'" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said that he sees inflation expectations as grounded despite rising energy prices, and the central bank doesn't need to respond with higher interest rates.

— Leonie Kidd

Bill Ackman says it’s one of the best times in a long time to buy quality stocks

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman said the current market dislocation has created one of the most attractive entry points for high-quality companies in years, urging investors to look past macro fears and lean into what he sees as deeply discounted opportunities.

"Some of the highest quality businesses in the world are trading at extremely cheap prices," Ackman wrote in a post on X late Sunday. "One of the best times in a long time to buy quality. Ignore the bears."

— Yun Li