Wall Street surged in Wednesday premarket trading as oil prices plunged below $100 after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Futures for the S&P 500 jumped 2.7 per cent before the opening bell and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2.6 per cent. Nasdaq futures soared 3.4 per cent.
Benchmark U.S. crude sank $18.43 to $94.52 a barrel, a nearly 16 per cent decline. Brent crude, the international standard dropped $15.54 to $93.73 a barrel. Natural gas futures declined close to five per cent.
The drops reversed some of the rise in oil prices since the start of the war more than five weeks ago that had effectively blocked passage through the strait that’s a crucial route for global supplies.
For now, market analysts see the ceasefire as more of a reprieve than a resolution.
“Yet the mood remains one of cautious optimism rather than outright celebration,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
“The ceasefire is only two weeks long, and markets will be watching closely to see whether shipping through the Strait of Hormuz normalizes as promised and whether the fragile truce can pave the way for a more durable peace agreement.”
Late Tuesday, Trump said he was holding off on his threatened attacks on Iranian bridges, power plants and other civilian targets. Iran’s foreign minister said passage through the strait would be allowed for the next two weeks under Iranian military management.
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But analysts warned against too much optimism.
“There is a reason to be optimistic, but it is still too early to tell, because, as you know, after all, it is Trump,” said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at MONEX.
U.S. Treasury yields fell as the drop in oil prices could alleviate some of the concerns in the bond market about a hefty spike in inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.24 per cent from 4.30 per cent on Tuesday.
In equities trading, major U.S. airline stocks soared on the steep drop in oil prices. Delta and United jumped more than 12 per cent in premarket while American rose 10 per cent. Delta on Wednesday also reported first-quarter sales and profit that came in ahead of Wall Street forecasts and said that demand remained strong with the summer travel season just a few months away.
Companies in the energy sector fell along with the drop in oil prices. Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips each lost close to six per cent while Chevron tumbled 4.6 per cent.
Elsewhere, in Europe France’s CAC 40 added 4.5 per cent by midday, while the German DAX soared nearly five per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 2.9 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 5.4 per cent to finish at 56,308.42. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 2.6 per cent to 8,951.80. South Korea’s Kospi soared 6.9 per cent to 5,872.34. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 3.1 per cent to 25,893.02, while the Shanghai Composite added 2.7 per cent to 3,995.00.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 158.39 Japanese yen from 159.52 yen Wednesday. The euro cost $1.1701, up from $1.1597. The dollar usually becomes a safe haven during geopolitical uncertainty, so the ceasefire deal worked to lessen that appeal.
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