Wall Street scales to record highs as investors bet the end of the Iran war is in sight
Wall Street surged to fresh record highs on Wednesday amid growing optimism among investors and traders that the end of the US-Iran war is near as both nations gear up to return to the negotiating table.
The benchmark S&P 500 breached 7,000 points for the first time in history, after climbing 0.8 per cent over the course of trading, finishing the day at 7,022.9.
The S&P slid as much as nine per cent after the conflict broke out on 28 February, halting just short of the 10 per cent level which is generally defined as a correction.
The tech heavy Nasdaq also rose to its own record high, jumping 1.6 per cent to 24,016 points, while the Dow Jones remained broadly flat.
The Nasdaq rally was led by quantum computing companies, D-Wave Quantum, which rocketed 22.6 per cent to $20.8 and IonQ which jumped 20.9 per cent to $43.2.
Both the Nasdaq and Dow Jones hit the 10 per cent correction level during the Iran War selloff.
The S&P 500 has led the bullish recovery rally across the three main US indices, sweeping away the wide losses endured during the early days of the conflict.
The index’s record high also comes after significant gains following the announcement of the ceasefire deal last week.
Wednesday’s gains were also buoyed by quarterly earnings reports from the Bank of America and Morgan Stanley with both banks beating trading estimates, suggesting to investors that banks had remained resilient over the course of the volatility.
End in sight?
The latest rally follows Trump’s latest claims on Wednesday that the war is “very close to over”, sparking hope among investors and traders that the conflict which has rocked both the stock and oil markets will soon come to an end.
He said: “We’ve beaten the military totally.
“We’ll see what happens, I think they want to make a deal very badly.”
The White House denied it had requested an extension to the ceasefire, which is set to end on 22 April, but said talks had been “productive and ongoing”.
Pakistan’s military said a delegation from the country arrived in Iran on Wednesday as Islamabad continues to mediate the two sides.
While stocks rejoice over a potential ceasefire, the future of oil prices remains in question, as the US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz continues, risking economic damage to nations away from the Middle East.
But prices are hovering at $95 per barrel during early Thursday trading, well below last month’s peak of $120.
Patrick Munnelly, market strategist at Tickmill Group, said: “For markets, the key implication is straightforward: any further de-escalation would likely help contain oil prices, reduce uncertainty, and improve the near-term backdrop for global growth assets.
“The market is increasingly treating the ceasefire story as a reason to fade war-premium positioning.
“For now, the market appears willing to look through geopolitical noise as long as diplomacy remains the dominant narrative.”
Asian stocks ride the wave
Asian stocks shot into the green during Thursday trading, as the region rode the coattails of Wall Street’s rally and clung to hopes of a ceasefire.
Traders hope that a de-esclation to the conflict will push down oil prices and boost economic growth, granting oil dependent countries in the region a sense of relief.
The Kospi jumped 2.2 per cent to 6,226 points, with the index up 44.4 per cent this year to date.
Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 followed suit to the S&P 500, reaching its own record high.
The blue-chip index increased 2.8 per cent to 59,518 points, surpassing its previous all-time high of 58,850.2 points on February 27, before the Iran war led to stark losses.
In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng benefitted from its global connections and foreign capital inflows, rising 1.6 per cent, while Shanghai’s Composite inched up 0.7 per cent.
But in India earlier gains have been lost, with the Sensex and Nifty 50 both down 0.3 per cent, following poor quarterly earnings and heavy selling from foreign institutional investors.