Wall Street gains after report of Iran’s secret outreach to US

NEW YORK: Wall Street indexes rose on Wednesday as investors weighed a report that Iranian operatives secretively reached out to the US to pursue talks to end the conflict, while President Donald Trump’s assurance to stabilize oil markets also boosted sentiment.

Investors scooped up tech-related stocks that sold off heavily in February, with Nvidia up 1.6 percent, Amazon.com adding 3.4 percent and Applied Digital jumping 9.1 percent.

A New York Times report said Iranian intelligence operatives indirectly reached out to the CIA a day after the attacks, but US officials remain skeptical that either the Trump administration or Iran is prepared for a near-term de-escalation.

Despite the report there is always the possibility of further escalation, Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management, said, adding that US investors have been relatively resilient since the war started.

American Airlines and Norwegian Cruise were up around 2 percent each, while Royal Caribbean lost 1.8 percent.

On the other hand, oil and gas producers such as ConocoPhillips and Cheniere Energy declined 2.8 percent and 0.8 percent. The energy sector led declines on the S&P 500 with a 1.4 percent fall.

Several Middle Eastern countries have temporarily halted oil and gas production and the US was looking to expand its campaign inside Iran.

At 11:53 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 324.35 points, or 0.67 percent, to 48,824.77, the S&P 500 gained 59.90 points, or 0.88 percent, to 6,876.53 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 327.79 points, or 1.45 percent, to 22,843.24.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.83-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.58-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted nine new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 56 new highs and 63 new lows.