Wall Street indexes rally after Iran says Strait of Hormuz ‘completely open’

Wall Street’s main indexes jumped Friday after investors cheered Iran’s decision to open the Strait of Hormuz following a ceasefire accord agreed in Lebanon.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi announced in a post on X that passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz was “completely open” for the remainder of the 10-day truce between Israeli forces and Hezbollah agreed to in Lebanon.

This follows U.S. President Donald Trump saying Washington could soon secure a peace agreement to end the war with Iran.

“This resolution is going to drive the markets higher. Nobody in their right mind, and certainly not the administration, trusts anything that Iran says, but actions do matter,” said Joseph Trevisani, senior analyst at FXStreet.

The news of the commercial shipping resuming through the waterway sent crude prices down 10.6%. The S&P 500 energy sector slipped 4.5% with Exxon Mobil and Chevron slipping 5% and 4%, respectively.

Airline stocks gained, with American Airlines and United Airlines jumping more than 7%.

Cruise operators Carnival and Norwegian Cruise rose 8% and 8.5%, respectively.

The CBOE volatility index hit a two-month low and was last down 0.17 points at 17.77. The prospect of de-escalation has encouraged investors to buy risk assets.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite notched record closes on Thursday. If current trends hold, it would extend the Nasdaq’s winning run to 13 days, its longest since January 1992.

All three indexes were also headed for their third consecutive week of gains.

The small-cap Russell 2000 hit its first intraday record high since the U.S.-Iran conflict erupted, joining other major indexes at all-time highs.

At 09:45 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 554.22 points, or 1.14%, to 49,136.99, the S&P 500 gained 54.59 points, or 0.78%, to 7,095.87 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 252.37 points, or 1.05%, to 24,355.07.

The information technology sector was the biggest boost to the benchmark, while the consumer discretionary sector led gains with a 2% rise.

With no major economic data scheduled for release on Friday, investors focused on corporate earnings.

Netflix dropped 10.7% after forecasting current-quarter earnings below expectations. The slide comes as co-founder and longtime chairman Reed Hastings stepped down, ending a 29-year tenure.

Alcoa fell 9% after the aluminum producer reported first-quarter profit and revenue below analysts’ estimates, citing elevated costs and softening demand.

Fifth Third Bancorp rose 1.2% after reporting first-quarter earnings.

Central bank commentary will also be in focus, with San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin, and Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller scheduled to speak.

However, recent remarks from Fed officials have had limited impact on rate expectations.

Markets are currently pricing in a 60% chance that the central bank cuts interest rates in December based on fed-funds futures prices. This marks a drastic change from a 20% chance earlier in the session according to LSEG-compiled data.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.94-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 3.91-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 23 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 123 new highs and 11 new lows.