The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Monday, with investors hoping for a potential agreement between Washington and Tehran despite the American blockade of Iranian ports.
After opening lower, the key indices of the American market eventually turned around: the Dow Jones gained 0.63%, the Nasdaq rose by 1.23%, and the S&P 500, by 1.02%.
“The market is betting that Donald Trump will manage to reach an agreement,” said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities in a statement to AFP.
The American president stated on Monday that the Iranians “would want to make a deal, no matter what,” after failed discussions in Pakistan to end the war in the Middle East.
He also mentioned on his Truth Social platform that 34 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, “by far the highest number since the beginning of this unprecedented closure” by Iran.
A fifth of the world’s oil normally passes through this strategic strait, where Tehran has imposed passage rights that have significantly restricted maritime traffic in recent weeks in response to Israeli-American attacks.
After rising in session to $103.87, the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, ultimately fell below the $100 threshold at closing following these statements.
Despite starting the day in the red, the American market turned around as Donald Trump threatened on Monday to “destroy” any “fast attack vessel” from Iran breaking the blockade of Iranian ports.
Denouncing an “illegal” act of “piracy,” Iran warned that it would target the ports of its Gulf neighbors if “the security of the ports of the Islamic Republic (…) was threatened.”
“The market reaction is ultimately relatively moderate,” note analysts at Briefing.com.
On the bond market, the yield on 10-year US government bonds eased around 20:15 GMT, hovering around 4.30% compared to 4.32% at Friday’s close.
In addition to geopolitical developments, investors will also watch American indicators this week, including the producer price inflation (PPI) for the month of March on Tuesday.
As for companies, the earnings season has kicked off, with major banks leading the way.
American investment bank Goldman Sachs ended lower (-1.89% at $890.63) despite announcing results above expectations on Monday.
The banking group posted a net profit of $5.4 billion (up 18% year-on-year), while analysts’ consensus was $5.08 billion.
The financial performance of JP Morgan (+1.14%), Wells Fargo (+1.41%), and Citigroup (+1.48%) is expected on Tuesday.
“The software sector values experienced a spectacular rebound (on Monday) after their recent decline,” also noted analysts at Briefing.com.
Oracle soared by 12.71%, Crowdstrike gained 6.13%, and Salesforce rose by 4.73%.
Since the beginning of the year, the sector has been significantly shaken by fears of artificial intelligence threatening its economic model. Some major software companies have lost 30% to 50% of their market capitalization in a few months.
