Wall Street pushed higher Tuesday as investors leaned into a developing diplomacy track between the United States and Iran and into a cooler energy backdrop that helped markets recalibrate. U.S. stocks rose toward record territory, following gains across Europe and Asia, as diplomats worked through back channels to set up another round of talks. The shift in sentiment came with oil prices easing after earlier jumps tied to heightened risks around shipping routes in the Persian Gulf.
The S&P 500 added 1.2% after a strong session the day before, leaving the broad index just 0.2% shy of its January record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 317 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 2%. Outside the United States, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.7%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.4%, reflecting the same broad risk-on tone.
Oil’s retreat contributed to the mood. Brent crude for June delivery fell 4.6% to settle at $94.79 on Tuesday, according to the AP report. That figure remained above a roughly $70 level seen before the war began in late February, but it was well below the $119 peak the market reached when worries about the war were at their highest.
Markets also continued to weigh the inflation readings that oil moves can influence. The report said inflation at the wholesale level in the United States accelerated to 4% in March from 3.4% in February, and that the result was better than the 4.6% rate economists had expected. The AP said the change fed through globally as well, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting global inflation would rise to 4.4% this year from 4.1% in 2025; it also downgraded its global growth forecast to 3.1% from 3.3% earlier in January.
Investors, meanwhile, were turning attention toward company fundamentals as the next market catalyst. The AP report said strong profit reports helped support the rally and noted that analysts typically see stock prices over the long term tracking corporate profits. It cited FactSet projections that S&P 500 companies would report solid growth of more than 12% for the most recent quarter, and it said Morgan Stanley strategists raised their estimates for S&P 500 profits over the first six months of the year after the war began.
Individual results and deal activity also moved major shares. BlackRock gained 3% and Citigroup rose 2.6% after reporting stronger profit and revenue than analysts expected. JPMorgan Chase delivered a better-than-expected quarter but its stock dipped 0.8% after CEO Jamie Dimon said bank officials could not predict how an “increasingly complex set of risks” would play out amid uncertainty.
Technology and credit-focused names were among the gainers. Amazon climbed 3.8% after saying it would buy Globalstar, a mobile satellite services company, for $90 per share in either cash or Amazon stock; Globalstar jumped 9.6%. Software stocks also rallied for a second day after earlier steep losses tied to fears that artificial intelligence could render some offerings obsolete, with AppLovin rising 3.9% and an iShares ETF tracking software up 1%. Private-credit companies also recovered after earlier investor pullbacks, with Blue Owl Capital rising 8.5%, Ares Management up 5.6% and Apollo Global Management up 4.4%, while Wells Fargo fell 5.7% after reporting weaker revenue than analysts expected.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased as oil’s decline took pressure off inflation expectations. The AP report said the 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.25% from 4.30% late Monday. That broader easing supported the rally alongside global equity gains, even as the report noted that hope has swung quickly into doubt since the war began, with market stress frequently tied to the Strait of Hormuz and potential blockages there.