- Talks between Iran and the United States show progress, but key disputes remain.
- US crude oil falls below $100 per barrel.
- Treasury yields fall on hopes for peace deal.
Oil prices fell and stocks rose on Thursday as investors were optimistic about possible progress in Middle East war peace talks, although the United States and Iran maintained opposing stances on Tehran’s uranium stockpiles and controls in the Strait of Hormuz.
A senior Iranian source said Reuters No deal has been reached with the United States but differences have narrowed, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there were “some good signs” in the talks but any cross-strait tolling system would be unacceptable.
US President Donald Trump said his country will eventually recover Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Oil prices had risen earlier in the day, while major US stock indices were all lower afterward. Reuters Iran’s supreme leader has reportedly issued a directive that the country’s near-weapons-grade uranium should not be sent abroad.
US Treasury yields fell in the afternoon amid hopes of progress on the peace deal. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note US10YT=RR was last down 0.8 basis points on the day at 4.575%. It hit its highest level since January 2025 on Tuesday.
The war, which began on February 28, has sent energy prices soaring and raised concerns about higher inflation and consumer spending.
US crude oil CLc1 fell $1.91 to close at $96.35. Brent LCOc1 fell $2.44 to close at $102.58.
“Oil is down and it’s below $100, and that’s a good thing,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York. But also, Sarhan said, investors have remained optimistic about the outlook for stocks, especially in technology.
Shares of Nvidia, the world’s largest company by market capitalization, closed down 1.8% as investors took profits following recent strong gains. Nvidia late Wednesday reported earnings that beat Wall Street expectations and announced an $80 billion share buyback program.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 276.31 points, or 0.55%, to 50,285.66, the S&P 500 rose 12.75 points, or 0.17%, to 7,445.72 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 22.74 points, or 0.09%, to 26,293.10.
MSCI’s broadest index of global shares rose 5.24 points, or 0.48%, to 1,106.89. The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended up 0.04%.
IBM shares rose 12.4% following news that the Trump administration will fund a handful of quantum computing companies, including a new IBM company, in exchange for stakes in some of the companies.
D-Wave Quantum stock and other quantum computing stocks also rose.
“When you look at the normal economic environment surrounding this market, you would expect (stocks) to be lower, but if you believe that the war is going to end soon, that we are in a temporary spike in energy prices, that pushes us to look more at not just the underlying earnings that have been good, but also the earnings potential that comes from AI,” said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments.
SpaceX unveiled its IPO filing late Wednesday, giving the market its first look at how much billionaire Elon Musk is spending on AI as he bids to transform the rocket maker into a broader AI-led business.
Investors were also paying attention to Turkiye’s development. Trading on the Turkiye stock market was temporarily suspended after sharp declines and government bonds fell after one of the country’s highest courts dealt the latest blow to the main opposition political party.
The court annulled the 2023 congress of the Republican People’s Party, in which its president, Ozgur Ozel, was elected.
The US-listed iShares MSCI Türkiye exchange-traded fund was down 9.2%.
The dollar index held steady late Thursday as traders weighed the likelihood of a near-term deal to end the war, having earlier hit a six-week high.
The dollar index USD=, which measures the dollar against a basket of currencies that includes the yen and euro, was unchanged on the day at 99.13, with the euro EUR= down 0.03% at $1.1624.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.04% to $4,541.79 an ounce.
