Why Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Is Climbing Monday Afternoon

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (NYSE:CLF) shares are trading higher Monday afternoon as investors reacted to a sharp easing in Middle East tensions that helped spark a broad risk-on rally across markets. Here’s what investors need to know. Cleveland-Cliffs shares are climbing with conviction. What’s behind CLF gains? Trump Iran Pause Sparks Broad Market Relief Rally President Donald Trump said early Monday that the U.S. would pause strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure for five days after what he described as productive talks with Tehran, a move that sent oil prices sharply lower and equity futures sharply higher. West Texas Intermediate crude fell over 8% to about $90 a barrel, while Brent crude dropped about 7.9% to roughly $103 Monday. At the same time, Dow Jones futures climbed more than 600 points Monday afternoon, S&P 500 futures rose 1% and Nasdaq-100 futures also gained 1%, reflecting a relief rally across risk assets. Falling Oil Prices Boost Outlook For Cleveland-Cliffs That backdrop is potentially lifting Cleveland-Cliffs, a company highly exposed to industrial sentiment, manufacturing demand expectations and input-cost dynamics. A sharp pullback in oil can ease inflation worries, improve the broader outlook for heavy industry and support cyclical names tied to steel, autos and infrastructure spending. Monday's move is the sharpest single-session relief trade since the U.S.-Israel offensive on Iran began Feb. 28, with traders rapidly repricing the odds of further escalation. For CLF, that improving macro tone appeared to outweigh recent geopolitical and commodity-market pressure. Analysts Expect Narrower Loss And Higher Revenue In Q1 Looking further out, the next major catalyst for the stock arrives with the May 6 earnings report. EPS Estimate: Loss of 36 cents (Up from Loss of 92 cents YoY) Revenue Estimate: $4.87 billion (Up from $4.63 billion YoY) Analyst Consensus On CLF Stock Remains Cautious Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Hold Rating with an average price target of $12.99. Recent analyst moves include: Wells Fargo: Equal-Weight (Lowers Target to $9.00) (Mar. 19) GLJ Research: Sell (Maintains Target to $9.42) (Mar. 16) Citigroup: Neutral (Raises Target to $13.00) (Feb. 10) CLF Shares Edge Higher Monday CLF Price Action: Cleveland-Cliffs shares were up 4.60% at $8.18 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Image: Shutterstock