Wall Street staged its biggest rally in months on Wednesday after President Trump announced a two-week suspension of planned attacks on Iranian infrastructure, contingent on Iran agreeing to immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The breakthrough sent crude oil into freefall and unleashed a wave of buying across nearly every corner of the equity market, with airlines, chipmakers, and mega-cap tech leading the charge higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,325.46 points, or 2.85%, to close at 47,909.92. The S&P 500 (SPI:SP500) jumped 165.96 points, or 2.51%, finishing at 6,782.81. The Nasdaq Composite rallied 617.15 points, or 2.80%, to close at 22,635.00. The moves came as U.S. crude oil plunged more than 16% to settle near $94 a barrel — its steepest single-day decline since 2020 — after trading as high as $117 just a day earlier. The collapse in energy prices provided immediate relief to an equity market that had been laboring under the weight of elevated fuel costs and geopolitical uncertainty for weeks.
Notable Movers
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) surged roughly 12% in a session where the airline had plenty of tailwinds working in its favor. The carrier reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.64 per share on revenue of $14.2 billion, beating top-line estimates even as it flagged a $2 billion fuel-cost headwind for the current quarter. CEO Ed Bastian noted that demand remains strong across premium cabins — where revenue rose 14% year-over-year — but said the company would “meaningfully reduce” near-term capacity growth. The ceasefire-driven collapse in oil amplified the stock’s move as investors recalculated the fuel outlook.
Chipmakers were among the session’s biggest winners. Micron Technology (MU) jumped about 7% after UBS raised its price target on the stock, while Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), ASML (ASML), and Applied Materials (AMAT) all rallied 7% or more on renewed confidence in the global growth outlook. Meta (META), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Nvidia (NVDA) led the Magnificent Seven broadly higher as the ceasefire-fueled optimism rippled through the large-cap tech space.
On the downside, energy stocks were hit hard as crude cratered. Diamondback Energy (FANG) was the session’s most notable laggard, tracking the roughly 16% decline in oil prices and underscoring how quickly sentiment can shift for the sector when the geopolitical premium unwinds.
Looking Ahead
Thursday brings the fourth-quarter GDP third estimate and February PCE prices — a critical pairing that will help investors gauge how much damage elevated oil costs have done to the broader economy. Friday’s March CPI report and the preliminary April University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment reading could prove even more consequential, particularly for Fed rate-cut expectations; odds of at least one cut before year-end jumped to 45% on Wednesday as the oil crash eased inflation fears. Big bank earnings season kicks off next week with Goldman Sachs on Monday, followed by JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and BlackRock on Tuesday. Whether the ceasefire holds — and whether Iran follows through on reopening the Strait of Hormuz — will remain the dominant swing factor for markets in the days ahead.