Wall Street’s main indexes climbed to near one-month highs on Wednesday after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, sending crude prices lower on expectations that energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz could resume.
The announcement came hours before U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with a senior Iranian official saying the passage could be opened this week ahead of peace talks if the countries agreed upon a framework for the ceasefire.
However, there was some alarm that fighting was still raging across the region, with attacks on Lebanon and Iran’s neighbors.
Global markets, which had been reeling under conflicting signals for weeks, staged a rally, with stock bourses in Asia and Europe rising, while crude prices slid below $100 a barrel.
“Even though there is still uncertainty over how durable this ceasefire is, stocks can move higher even without all of the details ironed out… just the scent of thawing tensions is enough,” said Robert Edwards, chief investment officer, Edwards Asset Management.
At 11:30 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,084.78 points, or 2.33%, to 47,669.24; the S&P 500 gained 140.76 points, or 2.13%, to 6,757.61 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 563.74 points, or 2.56%, to 22,581.59.
The small-cap Russell 2000 Index jumped 2.8% to a more than one-month high, while the CBOE Volatility Index slumped 4.50 points to 21.28 after hitting its lowest point since February 27.
The S&P 500 energy sector was the only one in the red, down almost 4.6%. Exxon Mobil XOM.N and Chevron dropped 5.6% each, and Occidental Petroleum lost 6.4%.
Travel-linked stocks jumped, with Southwest Airlines and United Airlines advancing 7.2% and 9.8%, respectively. They boosted industrial stocks on the S&P 500 by 3.5%, the top gainer among other sectors.
Cruise operators Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line added 10.8% and 8.7%, respectively.
The S&P 500 tech index rose 2.6%, helped by chip-linked stocks. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index briefly hit a record high, last up 5.3%.
“When you’re looking to put money back to work, you’re looking for stocks that did not absolutely crater and some bigger ones like AMD held up relatively well,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.
The Dow was lifted by gains in Goldman Sachs and American Express.
Investors are awaiting domestic inflation readings, expected later this week, to gauge whether the elevated crude prices during the war have added to price pressures.
They will also closely monitor comments from Federal Reserve officials and minutes from its March meeting, later in the day.
Market bets show an about 30% chance of a 25-basis-point cut in December, according to CME’s Fedwatch Tool, up from 13.6% a day ago. Traders expected two cuts before the war broke out.
Among other movers, Levi Strauss gained 10.8% after the denim apparel maker raised its annual sales and profit forecasts.
Delta Airlines advanced 6%, in line with peers, despite forecasting lower-than-expected profit for the second quarter.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 6.04-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 3.98-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 118 new highs and 28 new lows.
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