- Iran-US talks show progress but major differences persist.
- US crude falls below $100 a barrel.
- Treasury yields are falling on hopes for a peace deal.
Oil prices fell and stocks rose Thursday as investors were optimistic about possible progress in peace talks over the Middle East war, even as the United States and Iran maintained opposing positions on Tehran’s uranium stockpiles and control of the Strait of Hormuz.
A senior Iranian source said Reuters no deal was reached with the United States, but gaps were narrowed, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there had been “some good signs” in negotiations but that any toll system across the strait would be unacceptable.
US President Donald Trump has said the United States will eventually recover Iran’s stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.
Oil prices were up earlier in the day, while major U.S. stock indexes were all down after Reuters reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader issued a directive that the country’s near-weapon-grade uranium should not be sent abroad.
U.S. Treasury yields were lower in the afternoon on hopes for progress in 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 reached its highest level since January 2025 on Tuesday.
The war, which began on Feb. 28, has sent energy prices soaring and sparked concerns about higher inflation and consumer spending.
U.S. crude CLc1 fell $1.91 to settle at $96.35. Brent LCOc1 fell $2.44 to settle at $102.58.
“Oil is down and below $100, and that’s a good thing,” said Adam Sarhan, managing director at 50 Park Investments in New York. But also, Sarhan said, investors remained optimistic about the outlook for stocks, particularly in the technology sector.
Shares of Nvidia, the world’s largest company by market capitalization, ended 1.8% lower as investors took profits after recent big gains. Nvidia reported earnings Wednesday evening that beat Wall Street expectations and announced an $80 billion stock 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 index of stocks across the world rose 5.24 points, or 0.48 percent, to 1,106.89. The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended up 0.04%.
IBM shares rose 12.4% after news that the Trump administration would fund a handful of quantum computing companies, including a new IBM venture, in exchange for stakes in some of those companies.
Shares of D-Wave Quantum and other quantum computing stocks also jumped.
“When you look at the normal economic environment surrounding this market, you expect (stocks) to be weaker, but if you think that the war is going to end soon – that we’re at a temporarily elevated level in energy prices, that makes you look more at not only the underlying earnings which 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 glimpse of how much billionaire Elon Musk is spending on AI as he bets on transforming the rocket maker into a broader AI-led company.
Investors were also monitoring developments in Türkiye. Trading on the Turkiye stock market was temporarily halted after sharp falls 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 Republican People’s Party congress at which its chairman, Ozgur Ozel, was elected.
The U.S.-traded iShares MSCI Turkey exchange-traded fund was down 9.2%.
The dollar index was flat Thursday evening as traders weighed the likelihood of a near-term deal to end the war, after hitting a six-week high.
The dollar index USD=, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the 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.
