Stocks Rise as Oil Sinks on Supply Hopes Amid War: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Stocks climbed amid a plunge in oil on hopes the US moving to secure shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz while big economies mull deploying stockpiles as the war in Iran threatens supplies.
Mounting assurances from global leaders drove US crude near $80, with the Group of Seven nations asking the International Energy Agency to study the volumes that could be released. A social-media post from Energy Secretary Chris Wright saying the US Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through Hormuz briefly extended the slide in crude. While the post appears to have been deleted, oil was still down by 15%.
That all helped ease concerns about a sustained impact on inflation and the economy, driving equities higher. The dollar fell. A slew of corporate bond sales kept a lid on Treasuries.
Almost all commercial trade through Hormuz halted after the Iran war began, with owners concerned about security. That stopped tankers from exiting the gulf, filling storage and causing producers to cut output sharply.
With Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates all pumping millions of barrels less oil each day, the need to resume normal traffic through the water way is pressing.
The US and Israel bombarded Iran for an 11th day, with the Islamic Republic firing drones and missiles at targets across the Middle East in return. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said the US leader is always willing to talk, while casting doubt on Iranian willingness to do so.
“While traders welcomed the sudden drop in oil prices, the geopolitical backdrop remains far from stable, leaving markets vulnerable to further volatility,” said Fawad Razaqzada at Forex.com.
Investors betting on a hawkish response to rising oil prices could be misreading the Federal Reserve, according to Bank of America Corp., which warns that supply shocks can also result in periods of stable interest rates and even deep cuts.
An energy shock isn’t necessarily hawkish, US economist Aditya Bhave noted, because it can create tension between the central bank’s mandates to promote stable prices and support employment.
Corporate Highlights:
Boeing Co. said a wiring flaw found on its 737 Max will delay some deliveries of its cashcow narrowbody jet. Alphabet Inc.’s Google is introducing AI agents across the Pentagon’s three million-strong workforce to automate routine jobs, according to a senior defense official. Nvidia Corp. is making a new investment in Thinking Machines Lab, a company founded by former OpenAI executive Mira Murati. Amazon.com Inc. kicked off what is likely to be one of the biggest corporate bond offerings ever, in the latest blockbuster fundraising to pay for the AI boom. Salesforce Inc. is planning to sell as much as $25 billion of debt to fund a share buyback, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Honeywell Aerospace Inc. began its inaugural US investment-grade bond sale, targeting as much as $16 billion as it prepares for a planned spinoff. Bunge Global SA announced a $3 billion share repurchase plan as the crop trader continues to benefit from its recent acquisition of Viterra. Bill Ackman is returning to the IPO market with a combined offering for his hedge fund manager and a new closed-end fund. AT&T Inc. said it will spend more than $250 billion in five years to expand its telecom infrastructure and business operations. Kohl’s Corp. rebounded after the struggling department-store chain said it was pleased with its performance this year. Novo Nordisk A/S got a warning letter from the US Food and Drug Administration for not reporting all suspected side effects in patients who took Ozempic. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% as of 1:54 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7% The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% The MSCI World Index rose 1.1% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3% The euro was little changed at $1.1644 The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3460 The Japanese yen was little changed at 157.63 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 2.8% to $70,942.95 Ether rose 2.4% to $2,075.53 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.12% Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.84% Britain’s 10-year yield declined nine basis points to 4.55% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 15% to $80.60 a barrel Spot gold rose 1.8% to $5,231.56 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
