Stocks Rise and Oil Falls on Hopes War Is Near End: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Stocks climbed around the world, joining gains in bonds as oil retreated on hopes the US and Iran are nearing a deal to end a war that has jolted markets and clouded the economic outlook.
Stronger risk appetite drove a measure of global shares toward all-time highs. The S&P 500 advanced about 1%, also buoyed by solid corporate earnings. US crude settled around $95 a barrel, easing inflation concerns. Treasury yields slipped as bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes receded. The dollar also declined, hovering near pre-war levels.
The US and Iran were circling around a fresh proposal to end the nearly 10-week conflict. Washington presented a memorandum of understanding that would gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift the blockade on ports, according to a person familiar with the matter.
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Iran is expected to send a response via mediator Pakistan in the next two days, the person said.
President Donald Trump noted the war has “a very good chance of ending” and it’s “possible” that happens before his trip to Beijing next week, according to an interview with PBS News Hour. China’s top diplomat called for the swift reopening of Hormuz in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart.
“We remain on the path towards de-escalation,” said Michael Brown at Pepperstone. “While that path is clearly a rough one, so long as we remain on it, and the direction of travel remains a more optimistic one, then risk appetite should remain underpinned.”
Iran has laid out an updated process for ships seeking to transit Hormuz, but several shipowners said they remained cautious about sending their vessels through the waterway. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said “safe, stable passage” will be possible with “new protocols in place.”
Investors also parsed the latest economic data ahead of Friday’s jobs report. US companies boosted payrolls in April by the most in over a year, the latest evidence of stabilization in the labor market.
Fed Bank of St. Louis President Alberto Musalem said there’s uncertainty over the future path for the economy and monetary policy, but he sees risks rising more for inflation than for employment. His Chicago counterpart Austan Goolsbee warned against reflexively lowering rates in response to faster productivity growth, as the phenomenon can sometimes drive up prices.
Meantime, the Treasury signaled it’s comfortable issuing the shortest-dated debt to meet escalating government borrowing needs. It anticipates keeping nominal note and bond sale sizes unchanged “for at least the next several quarters.”
Corporate Highlights:
Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the leading challenger to Nvidia Corp. in AI computing chips, surged after a flood of data-center spending bolstered its sales forecast. Nvidia bought $500 million worth of rights for shares in the fiber-optic cable maker Corning Inc. as part of a broader partnership between the two companies aimed at expanding artificial-intelligence infrastructure. Anthropic PBC has signed an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bolster computing resources and meet surging demand for its Claude AI software. Super Micro Computer Inc. jumped after the company reported improved margins and gave a profit forecast that suggested it’s controlling the costs of getting powerful AI servers into customers’ hands. Walt Disney Co. posted stronger results than Wall Street expected thanks to improved profitability at its streaming business, new Avatar and Zootopia movies, and guests spending more at the company’s resorts and on cruises. What Bloomberg strategists say…
“A positive feedback loop fueled by AI earnings optimism and falling volatility will reinforce flows to sustain the S&P 500 rally. If geopolitical worries ebb further, support is likely to shift from single-stock acceleration to volatility compression.”
—Michael Ball, Macro Strategist, Markets Live. For the full analysis, click here.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 rose 1.3% as of 3 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.8% The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% The MSCI World Index rose 1.5% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.6% The euro rose 0.5% to $1.1751 The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.3596 The Japanese yen rose 1% to 156.37 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $81,365.21 Ether fell 1.5% to $2,345.98 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined seven basis points to 4.35% Germany’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 3.00% Britain’s 10-year yield declined 12 basis points to 4.94% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 6.9% to $95.23 a barrel Spot gold rose 2.8% to $4,686.67 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
