Can a hint of peace in Iran really justify Wall Street’s biggest jump since May?
Wall Street just delivered its best day since last spring on little more than a hint the Iran war might not drag on for years.
BNN Bloomberg reports the S&P 500 jumped 2.9 percent to 6,528.52, its biggest gain since May, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,125.37 points, or 2.5 percent, to 46,341.51 and the Nasdaq composite climbed 3.8 percent to 21,590.63.
CNBC says all three indexes logged their best day since May, even though the Nasdaq remains more than 10 percent below its recent intraday high and the Dow and S&P 500 are still down more than 8 percent and 6 percent, respectively, from their peaks.
BNN Bloomberg notes that just a day earlier war worries had pushed the S&P 500 to more than 9 percent below its all‑time high, and that the index has now posted its worst quarterly loss since the summer of 2022 with a 4.6 percent decline.
CNBC adds that the S&P 500 fell 5.1 percent in March, the Dow dropped 5.4 percent, the Nasdaq slid 4.8 percent and, for the quarter, the Nasdaq shed more than 7 percent, the S&P 500 lost 4.6 percent and the Dow fell 3.6 percent, while the Russell 2000 rose about 0.6 percent.
BNN Bloomberg says the rebound came as markets “seized on a couple tenuous signals for hope about a possible end to the war” in a quarter‑end session already primed for heavy trading.
The Wall Street Journal reported that US President Donald Trump told aides he is willing to end the US military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, a key channel where “a fifth of the world’s oil sails through” on a typical day.
CNN reports that the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq had their best day since May 2025 largely on that story and a semi‑confirmation that the White House is considering ending America’s involvement in the Iran war without reopening the Strait.
CNN says it later confirmed that Trump and his administration increasingly believe they cannot promise to reopen the strait as a prerequisite to declaring an end to hostilities.
On the Iranian side, BNN Bloomberg reports that a Middle East outlet quoted President Masoud Pezeshkian as saying Iran has “the necessary will to end the war” if it receives “guarantees to prevent a recurrence of aggression.”
CNBC, citing an unconfirmed report, said Pezeshkian is open to ending the war under certain guarantees. It noted that he wrote on X that the “only way to end this war” is recognition of Iran’s rights, reparations and international guarantees against further attacks.
CNN adds that Iranian state media later reported Tehran is ready to end the war in exchange for security guarantees, echoing what Pezeshkian “has been saying for weeks.”
Commentary remained cautious.
According to CNBC, Eric Diton of The Wealth Alliance said signs the war could end are fuelling a relief rally, but warned “we’re not out of the woods” as long as oil stays a concern.
CNN reports traders are again talking about the “TACO trade” and quotes Art Hogan of B. Riley Financial saying the reaction “is not justified by the news” and that markets were “coiled up for any kind of good news.”
Oil underscored that point.
BNN Bloomberg reports that Iran attacked a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, while CNBC says Brent crude futures settled up 4.94 percent at US$118.35 per barrel, the highest close since June 16, 2022, after a report that Iran struck a Kuwaiti tanker in Dubai waters.
CNBC cites Dubai’s government media office saying there were no injuries and “the safety of all 24 crew members has been secured.”
BNN Bloomberg separately reports Brent eased 3.2 percent to US$103.97 and US crude fell 1.5 percent to US$101.38, but warns prices “could quickly revert to spiking” and stocks could resume falling if tankers cannot get through the strait.
The outlet says oil is already feeding through to prices, with European inflation rising to 2.5 percent in March from 1.9 percent in February and the average US gasoline price topping US$4 per gallon for the first time since 2022, squeezing household budgets and corporate margins.
Lower yields offered some offset.
The 10‑year US Treasury yield fell to 4.31 percent from 4.44 percent at the end of last week and from 3.97 percent in late February, easing borrowing costs that had been “screaming higher since the war began,” and says yields stayed down after stronger‑than‑expected US consumer confidence and job‑openings data.
The rally was broad.
BNN Bloomberg reports four out of five S&P 500 stocks rose, with Marvell Technology up 12.8 percent after a US$2bn Nvidia investment and partnership, Nvidia up 5.6 percent and Microsoft up 3.1 percent, as CNBC notes the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund gained more than 4 percent.
The same report says United Airlines rose 8.1 percent and Norwegian Cruise Line Holding climbed 5.9 percent on easing fuel costs, while Centessa Pharmaceuticals jumped 44 percent after Eli Lilly agreed to buy it for up to US$7.8bn and Lilly rose 3.7 percent.
McCormick fell 6.1 percent after agreeing to buy most of Unilever’s food business, including Hellmann’s, in a US$44.8bn cash‑and‑stock deal.
