The Dow Jones ended with gains of 390 points, not before cooling off nearly 200 points from the day’s high. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both ended with gains of a percent each.
Gains on the tech-heavy Nasdaq were also aided by a 1.6% surge in shares of Nvidia, as CEO Jensen Huang touted nearly $1 trillion in orders for its Blackwell and Vera Rubin systems combined through 2027 at its annual GTC.
Crude oil prices fell overnight after US treasury secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC in an interview that the US has no plans of intervening in the financial markets to bring oil prices down. Bessent also said that the US is allowing Iranian tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, easing supply fears for the time being.
West Texas Intermediate, which had surged back to $100 on Monday morning, cooled off to levels of $92 a barrel by closing, and is seeing a modest rebound this morning. Brent closed above $100 a barrel for the third day running.
A drop in oil prices boosted US treasuries as yields fell on easing inflation fears. The US Dollar index also dropped below 100.
“While markets may experience some relief if the situation in the Middle East doesn’t notably deteriorate, any rebound in stocks risks being short-lived without clearer signs of an off-ramp that will allow oil prices to cool,” said Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.
