[New York Stock-Market Briefing] Rises on hopes Hormuz will remain open… semiconductor index +2%

Major indexes in the New York stock market closed higher. Expectations that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz could be lifted helped push international oil prices back into decline. Adding to the gains, investor sentiment toward tech stocks improved as Nvidia’s annual technology conference, GTC 2026, kicked off.

On the 16th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 387.94 points (0.83%) from the previous session to 46,946.41; the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 added 67.19 points (1.01%) to 6,699.38; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 268.82 points (1.22%) to 22,374.18.

The Dow and the S&P 500 turned higher after five sessions, while the Nasdaq rebounded after three.

The shift came as ships registered in Iran as well as China, India and Pakistan transited the Strait of Hormuz, fueling hopes the blockade would be eased. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated in an interview with Iran’s semi-official SNN TV that it is closed only to “enemies and those who support their attacks.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with CNBC, “Iranian ships are already transiting out of the strait, and we are allowing that in order to supply oil to the rest of the world.”

Oil prices also fell after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed he was in talks with Iran. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the front-month West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures contract settled at $93.5.

As oil showed signs of stabilizing and inflation worries eased, momentum that could spur risk appetite also continued within the artificial intelligence (AI) industry.

News that major private-equity firms including OpenAI, TPG and Bain Capital will set up a $10 billion joint venture (about 15 trillion won), along with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s projection at GTC that orders for Blackwell and Vera Rubin could reach about $1 trillion (about 1,489 trillion won) by next year, helped improve sentiment.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, made up of AI and semiconductor-related stocks, rose 1.96%. It surged as much as 3.27% at one point during the session.

All 11 sectors advanced, including technology (+1.39%), consumer discretionary (+1.34%), communication services (+1.02%), industrials (+0.85%) and real estate (+0.72%).

The “Magnificent Seven” mega-cap tech group—Nvidia (+1.65%), Tesla (+1.11%), Amazon.com (+1.96%), Meta Platforms (+2.33%), Alphabet (Class A, +1.09%), Microsoft (+1.11%) and Apple (+1.08%)—all moved higher.

Memory chipmaker Micron Technology climbed 3.68% on news it will build a second semiconductor plant in Taiwan.

Travel-related stocks such as Norwegian Cruise Line (+5.14%) and Delta Air Lines (+3.50%) also strengthened on the back of lower oil prices.

According to CME’s FedWatch tool, the federal funds futures market priced in a 76.9% probability that the policy rate will be left unchanged through June, up 0.7% point from the previous session.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) plunged 3.68 points (13.53%) from the prior session to 23.51.

Han Kyung-woo, Hankyung.com reporter case@hankyung.com