Wall Street Extends April Surge on Peace Prospects: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Speculation the Iran war is poised to end sent risky assets surging anew, extending a month-long rally that has sent the S&P 500 to a succession of records, added around $12,000 to the price of Bitcoin and pushed up credit and gold.

A global risk-on surge swept Wall Street after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” for commercial traffic, erasing much of the fear that had gripped energy and equity markets through weeks of Middle East conflict. Brent crude sank more than 10%, and the dollar slid against every major peer — even as the contours of any US-Iran deal remained unresolved.

The Hormuz news removed the last major overhang from a market that had been grinding higher despite the war. A fresh wave of AI enthusiasm, a stronger-than-expected earnings season, and growing bets that the Federal Reserve will cut rates again before year-end had already powered the S&P 500 Index to its biggest monthly advance since 2020 — even as the US campaign against Iran entered its seventh week. With the Strait now reopening, economists said the risk of a prolonged oil shock dragging on global growth has sharply receded.

Some on Wall Street suggested investors exercise caution and wait for a fully flushed out deal and other details to emerge.

“I would not be trading on these headlines,” Victoria Fernandez, Crossmark Global’s chief market strategist, told Bloomberg Television. “Let’s see how these things progress and then next week you can start to do some shifts to put a little bit more risk in your portfolio.”

The S&P 500 rose 1.4% Friday, on course for a third week of gains of more than 3%.

The Nasdaq 100 is poised for a 13-day winning streak, fueled by a rally in semiconductor companies riding the AI wave. If the advance holds it will be the longest stretch of gains in nearly 13 years.

Oil prices fell below $90 a barrel after a social media post attributed to Iran’s foreign minister said the passage for commercial vessels through Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy supplies, was open. A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is also in effect.

Separately, President Donald Trump said a naval blockade will remain in full force and in effect until a deal is reached. The president previously claimed that Iran has made key concessions in negotiations with the US. Axios reported that one element under discussion involved the US releasing $20 billion in frozen Iranian funds in exchange for Tehran giving up its enriched uranium stockpile. Trump later posted “no money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form.”

Some Gulf Arab and European leaders said that a US-Iran peace deal could take about six months to come together.

The dollar lost ground against all major peers. Treasury yields dropped with the rate on the benchmark 10-year down to 4.23%.

“Now that the dust appears to be settling on events in the Middle East, market attention will once again focus back on the fundamentals, in particular earnings given that the season has just started,” said Daniel Murray, deputy chief investment officer at EFG Asset Management. “Earnings expectations are buoyant, consistent with solid underlying macro trends.”

It took the S&P 500 just 11 days to lurch from an oversold reading to Thursday’s arrival in overbought territory. That has only been outpaced by a rally in 1982. Explanations for the abrupt change in momentum point to a combination of hedge unwinding, systematic buying and short covering by hedge funds in macro products.

While the Nasdaq’s winning streak has propelled the index to fresh all-time highs, tech valuations remain near their 10-year average. Earnings estimates have been rising in concert with stocks, keeping forward price-to-earnings ratios at low levels.

“This reset provides a more constructive entry point in equities, particularly across large-cap quality growth,” said Scott Rubner, Citadel Securities head of equity and equity derivatives strategy.

Netflix Inc. slumped after an underwhelming forecast. Alstom SA shares slid the most in over two years in Paris after the manufacturer withdrew financial guidance for this fiscal year. An index of Asian shares snapped a three-day streak of wins.

What Bloomberg Strategists Say:

“The US benchmark was already primed to extend gains after hitting a record high earlier in the week. Iran’s declaration that commercial ships can pass through the Hormuz strait strengthens the positive momentum in equities, though President Donald Trump’s comments on the US naval blockade remaining counteracts some of the lift. What hangs in the balance is the S&P 500’s ability to deliver the first week of gains in five straight sessions since early October.”

—Kristine Aquino, Managing Editor, Markets Live

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Corporate News:

Netflix Inc. gave a forecast for the second quarter that fell short of analysts’ expectations, sending the shares tumbling. Intel Corp. shares leaped to their highest intraday level since the dot-com era on Friday as optimism that the chipmaker’s turnaround plan is working continues to grow. A consortium including Bouygues Telecom, Iliad SA and Orange SA has entered exclusive negotiations to buy billionaire Patrick Drahi’s telecom company SFR. OnlyFans, the platform best known for adult content, is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake to Architect Capital in a deal that would value the British company at more than $3 billion. Apple Inc.’s marketing executive in charge of the Apple Watch, AirPods, health and smart home initiatives said he’s retiring. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 rose 1.4% to a record high as of 12:13 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.4% to a record high The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.2%, more than any closing gain since April 8, 2026 The MSCI World Index rose 1.3% to a record high Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3% to the lowest since Feb. 27, 2026 The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1796 The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3548 The Japanese yen surged 0.6%, more than any closing gain since April 8, 2026 Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin surged 3.7%, more than any closing gain since March 23, 2026 Ether surged 4.2%, more than any closing gain since April 8, 2026 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined eight basis points, more than any closing decline since March 30, 2026 Germany’s 10-year yield declined seven basis points to 2.96% Britain’s 10-year yield declined nine basis points to 4.76% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 13%, the most since April 8, 2026 Spot gold rose 1.7% to $4,872.81 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Andre Janse van Vuuren, Subrat Patnaik, Neil Campling, Dani Burger, Jan-Patrick Barnert, Michael Msika, Levin Stamm and Daniel Curtis.

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