Oil prices slid Wednesday while global stock markets climbed, as investors latched onto renewed hopes that the United States and Iran are nearing a deal that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping. The Strait of Hormuz has been a chokepoint for Persian Gulf exports during the Iran war, with blocked routes helping keep pressure on energy costs that ripple into broader prices. Markets reacted sharply to signals that those constraints might ease again.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 7.8% to $101.27, after trading more than $115 earlier in the week. The oil drop followed remarks from President Donald Trump that the Strait of Hormuz could be “OPEN TO ALL” if Iran accepts a reported agreement involving the United States. The oil price also at one point dipped briefly below $97 before recovering to above $100 later in the day.
On Wall Street, stocks surged as investors weighed those energy-route hopes alongside company-specific results. The S&P 500 climbed 1.5%—its best day in nearly a month—and reached another all-time high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 612 points, or 1.2%. The Nasdaq composite added 2% to finish at its own record.
Investors also looked at signals from Washington and other governments. Trump said Tuesday he was pausing a push to forcefully reopen the strait to commercial ships. Separately, China’s foreign minister called for a comprehensive ceasefire after a meeting with Iran’s foreign minister, a move market participants viewed as potentially influential given how closely tied Iran is to China economically and politically.
The rally was also driven by strong start-of-2026 earnings that met or beat Wall Street expectations for several large companies, helping offset uncertainty tied to the Iran war. AMD jumped 18.6% after the company said it benefited from continued artificial-intelligence-driven demand for computing power from data centers. AMD also said its revenue growth could accelerate in the current quarter to roughly 46% from a year earlier.
Other major AI and technology names fueled the move. Super Micro Computer rose 24.5% after delivering stronger earnings than analysts expected, and Nvidia climbed 5.7%, described as the single strongest force lifting the S&P 500 because of its size. Outside pure tech, CVS Health gained 7.6% after posting better-than-expected first-quarter results and raising full-year forecasts, while the Walt Disney Co. rose 7.5% after saying its “Zootopia 2” movie helped pull in viewers for streaming, parks and cruise operations while producing a better-than-expected profit.
Consumer and transportation stocks also advanced. Uber Technologies climbed 8.5% after providing a spring bookings forecast that beat analysts’ expectations. Airline and cruise shares benefited as well from the slide in oil prices, including United Airlines, Carnival and Royal Caribbean, with gains ranging from about 6.8% to 8.8% for the companies cited.
Bond markets moved in tandem with the commodity shift, reflecting expectations that lower energy prices could ease inflation pressure. Treasury yields sank as oil fell, with the 10-year Treasury yield dropping to 4.35% from 4.43% late Tuesday. Lower yields can reduce borrowing costs for U.S. households and businesses and can also support stock valuations, even as the 10-year yield remained well above its level before the war.
Markets abroad saw larger percentage gains, with the reaction concentrated in rate-sensitive equity performance. In South Korea, the Kospi jumped above the 7,000 level for the first time to a record, aided by big gains among AI-related winners including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Indexes also rose in Europe, with gains cited of 2.9% in Paris and 2.1% in London.
Still, traders were aware that hopes tied to ending the Iran war have surfaced multiple times before and then faded. The oil and stock swings came as markets continued to try to price timing and credibility of any possible shift in shipping conditions.