US Stocks Rally on Hopes of Energy Stability After US-Iran Deal

US stocks have rallied on hopes that the tentative deal to end the US-Israel war on Iran will restore stability to energy supply chains roiled by months of disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.

The S&P 500 rose 1.7 percent on Monday, taking the benchmark index within touching distance of its all-time high.

The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite jumped 3.1 percent, aided by a 19.6 percent gain by SpaceX, which on Friday made the biggest market debut in history and minted the world’s first trillionaire in Elon Musk.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.9 percent, closing at a record high.

Brent crude futures, the primary benchmark for global oil prices, fell nearly 5 percent to just above $83 a barrel, the lowest price since the first week of the conflict.

Asian stock markets continued the rally on Monday after a slow start to the morning, adding to gains racked up the previous day on the back of US President Donald Trump’s deal with Tehran.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 briefly hit the 70,000 threshold for the first time ever before easing, leaving the benchmark index hovering around 0.6 percent as of 04:45 GMT.

South Korea’s KOSPI, the best-performing major index this year, was up more than 2.1 percent.

Taiwan’s TAIEX was up 0.6 percent, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was down 1.25 percent.

Jay Goldberg, a senior analyst for tech-related equities at the Chicago-based Seaport Research Partners, said the announcement of the US-Iran deal had tilted investors’ risk balancing act towards buying into the market.

“To oversimplify, the debate has been: AI spending is strong, but there’s a war going on,” Goldberg told Al Jazeera.

“The war is over, it seems, so that side of the argument falls away. Investors are now feeling better about taking on more risk.”

While Washington and Tehran’s framework has raised hopes for a return to stability in global energy markets, it is expected to take months before energy flows fully return to normal, due to the massive backlog of vessels around the Strait of Hormuz and the need to ensure the waterway is safe from Iranian naval mines.

According to the International Shipping Chamber, about 500 ships are still waiting to pass through the strait, which normally carries about one-fifth of global supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas.