Wall Street indexes touched fresh record highs and oil prices cratered yesterday after Iran said that the Strait of Hormuz was open for passage during a ceasefire in Lebanon and US President Donald Trump said he expected to reach a deal to end the war soon.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on X that passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global energy flows, was declared completely open for the remainder of the 10-day truce brokered by the US that was agreed on Thursday.
Benchmark Brent crude futures nosedived and were last trading around $88.90 per barrel, down 10.55% on the day, having hit a session low of $86.09. US crude fell 12.26% to $83.08 a barrel .That is still above pre-war levels that were around $70, but down significantly from late March's highs, which, for Brent, were close to $120 a barrel.
Stocks marched higher, with the Wall Street benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting new record highs and the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching its highest level in over two months. The S&P 500 gained 1.49%, to 7,145.87. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.32%, to 49,708.17, and the Nasdaq added 1.68%, to 24,508.57. Europe's STOXX 600 also jumped after the news that the waterway would open, climbing more than 1.5%.
‘The opening of the Strait of Hormuz is a critical step towards normalising transit through the waterway. But the reopening is limited in scope,’ said James Reilly, senior markets economist at Capital Economics. ‘That all being said, this is a significant and necessary step towards potentially ending the war.’
Discover more from Truth Inspire Your Day
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
