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The S&P 500 leaped 2.5% after Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, less than 90 minutes before a deadline Trump had set for it to open the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 1,325 points, or 2.8% and the Nasdaq composite soared 2.8% following even bigger gains in European and Asian stock markets. Oil prices plunged below $95 per barrel Wednesday'U.S. crude down 16.4% to $94.41 and Brent 13.3% to $94.75'after Trump pulled back from destroying Iran, sparking global stock surges. Despite this, prices remain above pre-war ~$70 levels amid fears of renewed conflict, with early market gains fading due to the shaky ceasefire and Iran's Strait of Hormuz closure over Israeli Lebanon strikes. Iran requires ships to coordinate passage with hefty $1-per-barrel crypto tolls'up to $3 million for supertankers'per Windward intelligence. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the closure completely unacceptable, reiterating Trump's demand to reopen the vital oil channel amid on-going reversals since the war began. On Wall Street, companies with big fuel bills rallied to trim some of the sharp losses taken on worries about oil prices staying high. United Airlines soared 7.9% and cut into its loss for the year, which came into the day at 20.1%. Cruise ship operator Carnival climbed 11.2%. Delta Air Lines rose 3.7% after it reported stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Ed Bastian said demand for flights remains strong, and it's making moves to make up for higher fuel bills. Delta on Tuesday became the latest airline to raise its fees for checking bags. In Asia, where countries are more reliant on oil from the Middle East, South Korea's Kospi stock index surged 6.9%. Japan's Nikkei 225 leaped 5.4%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 3.1%. European stock indexes rose nearly as much. Germany's DAX returned 5.1%, and France's CAC 40 rallied 4.5%. In the bond market, Treasury yields dropped as hopes built that easing oil prices could let the Federal Reserve resume its cuts to interest rates later this year. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.29% from 4.33% late Tuesday. Lower Treasury yields give a boost to prices for stocks, bonds and all kinds of other investments. They should also ease some of the recent rise in rates for mortgages and other loans taken out by U.S. households and businesses.
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