U.S. stocks rose slightly today despite an initial decline, buoyed by hopes for a peace deal between the United States and Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which includes shares of 30 leading U.S. companies, gained 0.55 percent to close at 50,285.66 points. The broader S&P 500 index rose 0.17 percent to 7,445.72 points, and the Nasdaq Composite index, which includes many companies from the advanced technology sector, rose 0.09 percent to 26,293.10 points.
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Fragile Ceasefire Keeps Stocks Afloat
“The positive aspect from the stock market’s perspective is that the fragile ceasefire is still holding,” said Marc Dizard, an analyst at Huntington Wealth Management, according to Reuters. He added, however, that it remains unclear how the peace talks are progressing.
Stocks initially weakened in response to a report that, according to Reuters sources, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had issued a decree banning the transfer of highly enriched uranium abroad. This could complicate talks with the United States, which is demanding that Tehran hand over its highly enriched uranium.
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Rubio tempers optimism
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later signaled some progress in the peace talks, however. “There are some positive signs,” he said. “I don’t want to be overly optimistic. So we’ll see what happens in the next few days,” he added. On the foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar initially strengthened but later lost its gains. Shortly after 10:00 p.m. CEST, the euro was trading at around $1.1620. It was thus not far from Wednesday’s close.
The conflict in the Middle East, which began in late February with U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, has paralyzed shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. About one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies normally pass through this strait. This development is undermining the currencies of economies dependent on oil imports, such as Japan and the eurozone, while boosting investor interest in the dollar as a safe haven.
Source: ČTK
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