Market Highlights

US stocks held onto record highs as traders digested a flurryof headlines on the conflict in the Middle East, brushing aside warnings that the US-Iran war would continue to linger for months. The S&P 500 edged up 0.3%, notching another all-time high after the benchmark closed above the 7,000 mark for the firsttime on Wednesday. President Donald Trump said prospects for a deal with Iran are “looking very good.” He said he believed Iran had agreed to terms it has long resisted, including giving up ambitions for a nuclear weapon. Tehran has not publicly confirmed it’s made those concessions A record-breaking rally in global equities stalled in Asia as investors trimmed positions ahead of the weekend while awaiting progress on extending the US-Iran ceasefire.

US stocks closed at record highs on Wednesday, as a potential peace deal in the Middle East and a strong start to corporate earnings season stoked investor optimism. The S&P 500 finished the day up 0.8%, extending a dramatic two-week surge from its late March lows. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 was up 1.4%, also a record. Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley rose as their equity traders posted strong revenue beats. Stocks are rallying on optimism over renewed US-Iran talks, with a number of major markets erasing their war-driven declines.

Stocks surged on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 Index closing within sight of a fresh record as optimism on the possibility of further peace talks between the US and Iran pushed down oil prices. The benchmark index finished1.2% higher a day after erasing its war-driven losses, extending a rebound that has brought it to the brink of its late-January peak. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 1.8% for a 10th straight day of gains — its longest such streak since 2021 Stocks are rallying on optimism over renewed US-Iran talks, with a number of major markets erasing their war-driven declines.

Stocks closed at session highs and were back in the green for 2026 after President Donald Trump said Iran still wanted to make a deal following a deadlock in peace talks and a US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. shares dropped in an underwhelming start to the earnings season. The S&P 500 rose 1% to its highest level since late February. Brent crude was up 3% at around $98 a barrel, paring earlier gains. Goldman retreated 1.9% as a revenue miss in fixed-income, currency and commodities outweighed a record haul from equities. Stocks rose and oil declined after President Donald Trump signaled a willingness to resume talks with Iran, boosting expectations for a potential deal that will ease tensions in the Middle East.

The prospect that the Iran war will reintensify after the failure of peace talks threatens to spark fresh volatility across global markets, after a week that saw a fragile ceasefire drive stocks up and oil down by the most this year. After the US and Iran were unable to reach a deal in negotiations over the weekend, President Donald Trump said the US will blockade the Strait of Hormuz. He posted on social media that “Any Iranian who firesat us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!” Iran, meanwhile, said it wouldn’t allow the US to blockade the waterway, which carried about a fifthof global oil and liquefied natural gas before the conflict. Oil surged while stocks and bonds fell after President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, heightening tensions with Iran following the collapse of weekend peace talks.

Wall Street traders drove stocks higher as oil closed below $100 after Israel agreed to direct talks with Lebanon, bolstering expectations that a US ceasefire deal will hold. Equities extended gains into a seventh straight day, with the S&P 500 notching its longest winning run since October. That’s despite a selloff in software shares. US crude settled near $98 on hopes for a de-escalation in strikes that have prompted Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz largely blocked. Asian stocks rose, extending their firstweekly gain since the Middle East war began, with investors cautiously hopeful ahead of US-Iran talks this weekend. Oil was set for its biggest weekly loss in nine months

A wave of optimism swept through global financial markets, boosting stocks and cryptocurrencies while spurring a selloff in oil after the US and Iran reached a ceasefire deal. The rebound in risk appetite drove the S&P 500 up 2.5%. US crude settled below $95, easing concern about an energy crisis and reviving bets the Federal Reserve will cut rates in 2026. Treasuries wavered. As the haven bid waned, the dollar erased its advance for the year. Bitcoin topped $71,000. Stocks dropped and oil rose as optimism over the US-Iran ceasefire faded after Tehran warned that some terms of the deal had been breached.

Hopes for a diplomatic way out of the war in the Middle East spurred a bounce in stocks as oil fell ahead of President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to agree to a ceasefire. In the final stretch of a jittery Wall Street session, markets got a degree of relief as Pakistan urged the US for a two-week extension of the deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The S&P 500 erased a 1.2% drop. US crude slipped to around $112 in late hours. Bond yields and the dollar fell. Oil fell the most in almost six years and stocks surged after the US and Iran agreed to a two- week ceasefire, giving markets a respite from the turbulence driven by the Middle East conflict.

Oil climbed and stocks whipsawed after President Donald Trump signaled that an escalation of strikes on Iran could come as soon as Tuesday, overshadowing hopes for a ceasefire. Fears that imminent military action could derail tentative progress toward restoring energy flowsthrough the Strait of Hormuz drove US crude above $112. In a volatile session, equities held on to small gains, with the S&P 500 posting its longest advance since January. Bonds and the dollar barely budged. US stock futures fell and crude oil advanced ahead of President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to make a peace deal, with tentative ceasefire signals tempered by the risk of further escalation.

US stocks rallied for a second day as hopes grew that the war in the Middle East may be nearing a conclusion, while Brent briefly fell below $100 a barrel. Treasuries wavered and the dollar marked a second day of declines. The S&P 500 closed up 0.7%, adding to gains from the previous session as investors assessed comments by President Donald Trump on the war’s trajectory. Trump said on Wednesday that Iran has asked for a ceasefire, adding that the US would only consider it if the Strait of Hormuz were reopened. Iran’s foreign ministry said the claim of a ceasefire request was “false and baseless,” according to state TV Oil jumped, while stocks and bonds fell after President Donald Trump warned the US would hit Iran “extremely hard” over the next two to three weeks, undermining expectations for an imminent resolution to the five-week-old Middle East conflict.