SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Thousands took to the streets of Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, Wednesday to denounce steep tax increases in next year’s draft budget before its final vote in parliament.
The opposition coalition We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria organized the rally, which drew an estimated 20,000 protesters. The protest comes as the Balkan country prepares to join the eurozone at the beginning of next year.
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Protester stands on top of a police vehicle as thousands took the streets of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, to denounce steep tax hikes in next year's draft budget before being finally voted on in parliament, Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Protesters whistle and wave Bulgarian flags as thousands took to the streets of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, to denounce steep tax hikes in next year's draft budget before being finally voted on in parliament, Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Policeman stand near a vandalized police vehicle with a graffiti sign "mafia," as thousands took to the streets of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, to denounce steep tax hikes in next year's draft budget before being finally voted on in parliament, Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Protesters scuffle with police as thousands took to the streets of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, to denounce steep tax hikes in next year's draft budget before being finally voted on in parliament, Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Protesters shout at policemen as thousands took to the streets of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, to denounce steep tax hikes in next year's draft budget before being finally voted on in parliament, Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
The protest reflects widespread concern over the budget’s economic impact on individuals and businesses, including the increase in social security contributions and the doubling of the dividend tax.
Protesters formed a human chain around parliament and tried to block deputies’ cars, prompting police intervention to prevent violence. Police reported that demonstrators threw bottles and firecrackers at officers, injuring three.
Despite opposition from various social groups and warnings from economists that the draft carries significant risks, the budget will likely be approved since the coalition government holds a comfortable majority in parliament.
The budget sets a record for government spending at nearly 46% of GDP. This increase will be financed primarily through higher taxes on businesses and workers, as well as a sharp rise in public debt.
Protester stands on top of a police vehicle as thousands took the streets of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, to denounce steep tax hikes in next year's draft budget before being finally voted on in parliament, Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Protesters whistle and wave Bulgarian flags as thousands took to the streets of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, to denounce steep tax hikes in next year's draft budget before being finally voted on in parliament, Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Policeman stand near a vandalized police vehicle with a graffiti sign "mafia," as thousands took to the streets of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, to denounce steep tax hikes in next year's draft budget before being finally voted on in parliament, Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Protesters scuffle with police as thousands took to the streets of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, to denounce steep tax hikes in next year's draft budget before being finally voted on in parliament, Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Protesters shout at policemen as thousands took to the streets of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, to denounce steep tax hikes in next year's draft budget before being finally voted on in parliament, Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rushed higher worldwide, and oil prices eased Wednesday as hopes built that the war with Iran could end soon. That’s even though some of the signals investors saw as hopeful are already under dispute, and several earlier bouts of optimism in financial markets quickly got undercut by continued, fierce fighting in the war.
The S&P 500 rose 0.7% and added to its leap from the day before, which was its best since last spring. That followed even bigger gains for stock markets across Europe and Asia, including an 8.4% surge in South Korea, which were catching up to Wall Street’s rally from Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 224 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.2%.
Oil prices also fell back toward $100 per barrel after President Donald Trump said late Tuesday that the U.S. military could end its offensive in two to three weeks.
That added to optimism following a couple tenuous signals of hope from earlier Tuesday that Wall Street latched onto, including a news report quoting Iran’s president as saying that it has “the necessary will to end the war” as long as certain requirements are met, including “guarantees to prevent a recurrence of aggression.”
The worry on Wall Street has been that the war may last a long time and keep oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf out of global markets, which could create a brutal blast of inflation.
But hope has been quick to reverse to doubt on Wall Street, triggering manic swings back and forth for financial markets since the war with Iran began. Trump has also made statements that lifted markets, only to see the gains quickly disappear after increasing his military threats.
Shortly before Wall Street began trading on Wednesday, Trump claimed in a post on his social media network that Iran “has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!”
“We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”
But Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, quickly called that claim “false and baseless,” according to a report on Iranian state television.
Oil prices also remain high, even if they’ve eased recently. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, was sitting around $101 following its declines, which is still up from roughly $70 before the war began.
U.S. gasoline prices rose again overnight to a national average of $4.06 per gallon, according to the auto club AAA.
Iran, meanwhile, hit an oil tanker off the coast of Qatar and Kuwait’s airport on Wednesday while airstrikes battered Tehran as the fighting continued. Iran also continues to hold a grip on the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes during peacetime.
“De-escalation hopes have given markets a lift, but we think the effects of the war would, in many cases, persist even if the war did end soon,” Thomas Mathews, head of markets, Asia Pacific at Capital Economics, said in a research note Wednesday.
“It’s worth thinking through how markets might fare if the war were to end ‘very soon,’” he wrote. “Do markets have further to recover if sentiment continues to improve? The answer is almost certainly yes.”
The White House said Trump will deliver a public address Wednesday evening on the Iran war.
On Wall Street, three out of every five stocks within the S&P 500 rose as Big Tech powered the move higher. Gains of 3.4% for Alphabet and 0.8% for Nvidia were two of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.
Eli Lilly rallied 3.8% after U.S. regulators approved its GLP-1 pill for weight loss.
Such gains have pulled the S&P 500, which sits at the heart of many 401(k) accounts, back to within 5.8% of its all-time high set early this year. Just on Monday, the index briefly neared a 10% drop from its record, a steep-enough fall that professional investors have a name for it: a “correction.”
Nike sank 15.5% even though it reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected. Analysts said it gave some lackluster financial forecasts.
Oil companies also fell with the price of crude. Exxon Mobil slumped 5.2%, and Chevron dropped 4.6%.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 46.80 points to 6,575.32. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 224.23 to 46,565.74, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 250.32 to 21,840.95.
In stock markets abroad, indexes leaped more than 2% in France and Germany. Asian markets had even bigger gains.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 5.2% after a survey showed business sentiment for major Japanese manufacturers improved despite worries about the Iran war.
In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady after a report said U.S. retailers made more money in February than economists expected. A separate report said U.S. manufacturing growth last month was slightly faster than economists expected.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.32% from 4.30% late Tuesday.
AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed.
James Conti works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Philip Finale works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader reacts near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A screen displays financial information on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
