US open: Stocks rally following two-week Iran ceasefire announcement

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were firmly in the green early on Wednesday after Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran. As of 1535 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.45% at 47,726.42, while the S&P 500 advanced 2.16% to 6,759.62 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 2.67% firmer at 22,605.38.

The Dow opened 1,141.96 points higher on Wednesday, easily reversing modest losses recorded in the previous session.

Stocks jumped early on Wednesday after Trump said he would suspend planned attacks on Iran for two weeks ahead of his 2000 ET deadline, pausing a five‑week conflict that had shut a key global energy corridor and rattled markets.

Trump said the US had received a ten‑point proposal from Iran that he viewed as a workable basis for negotiations, adding that the ceasefire would depend on Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

According to Iran's foreign ministry, the country's Supreme National Security Council agreed to reopen the waterway for two weeks provided all attacks were halted, with transit to be coordinated with Iran's armed forces. Israel also agreed to the pause, but said the two-week truce would not extend to ongoing military operations in Lebanon.

Stocks also got a leg up after Trump said the US would work with Iran to remove nuclear material from the country and that both nations were discussing tariff and sanctions relief.

Oil prices slumped on the news, with West Texas Intermediate down 16.93% at $93.83 a barrel and benchmark Brent crude falling 14.82% to $92.91 a barrel.

Outside of Middle East developments, Wednesday's primary focus will likely be minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest two-day policy meeting, due out at 1900 BST, with investors hoping to gain further insight into the central bank's thinking

Elsewhere on the macro front, US mortgage applications slipped 0.8% in the week ended 3 April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, extending the 28.5% cumulative decline seen over the previous three weeks. Last week's pullback came even as benchmark mortgage rates retreated from last prior week's seven‑month high, as longer‑dated Treasury yields eased on reduced expectations of further Federal Reserve tightening. Applications to refinance a mortgate, which tend to be more sensitive to short‑term rate moves, fell 3%, while applications to purchase a home edged up 1% week-on-week - but were down 7% year-on-year, marking the first annual decline since January 2025.

In the corporate space, Delta Air Lines reported March-quarter earnings in line with guidance, as strong travel demand helped offset a sharp rise in fuel costs driven by the Iran conflict. On an adjusted basis, Delta reported record March-quarter revenue of $14.2bn, up 9.4%, with pre-tax income of $532m and earnings per share of $0.64, ahead of market expectations.

Still to come, Constellation Brands was slated to publish its latest quarterly earnings figures after the close.











Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $57.49 8.99% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $337.58 5.98% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $765.35 5.54% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $904.76 4.80% American Express Co. (AXP) $319.65 4.14% Boeing Co. (BA) $218.68 3.78% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $307.78 3.47% 3M Co. (MMM) $148.80 3.43% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $98.44 2.92% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $82.25 2.88%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $36.75 -11.49% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $190.38 -5.43% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $47.28 -2.60% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $236.99 -0.47% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $307.69 -0.28% Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $0.00 0.00% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $0.00 0.00% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $182.99 0.04% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $245.91 0.34%

S&P 500 - Risers

Carnival Corp. (CCL) $28.57 14.15% United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $100.23 13.98% Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $41.09 12.21% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $247.40 11.90% Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $20.82 11.75% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $339.80 10.78% Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $294.60 10.48% Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $41.56 10.38% Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $121.25 10.34% Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $498.80 9.75%

S&P 500 - Fallers

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $69.92 -13.53% Apache Corp. (APA) $38.21 -12.88% CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $119.50 -10.98% Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $58.02 -7.55% Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $184.61 -7.12% ConocoPhillips (COP) $123.71 -6.14% Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $153.71 -6.03% Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $47.24 -5.64% Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $33.02 -5.60% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $190.32 -5.43%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $247.40 11.90% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $339.80 10.78% Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $498.80 9.75% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $387.23 9.72% American Airlines Group (AAL) $11.73 9.20% Intel Corp. (INTC) $57.55 8.99% Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,407.01 8.88% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,663.62 8.45% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $409.43 7.91% Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $241.92 7.00%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $401.23 -2.86% Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $180.81 -2.32% Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $22.84 -2.03% Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $127.84 -0.83% Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $12.42 -0.80% Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $11.90 -0.71% Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $108.49 -0.51% eBay Inc. (EBAY) $97.04 -0.36% Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $57.91 -0.22% Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $98.89 -0.12%