Stocks Close Higher Despite a Rebound in Oil…Micron Up 4.5% [New York Market Briefing]

International oil prices turned higher again, but the three major U.S. stock indexes in New York ended the session up.

On the 17th (local time), at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 46.85 points (0.10%) from the previous session to close at 46,993.26. The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 gained 16.71 points (0.25%) to 6,716.09, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 105.35 points (0.47%) to finish at 22,479.53.

News that tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is gradually resuming provided support to sentiment. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council (NEC), said in an interview with CNBC, “Tankers have already begun to pass through the strait little by little,” adding that “this is a signal showing how limited Iran’s capabilities are.”

A day earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said that tankers were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has been consistently highlighting that Iran’s ability to control the strait is weakening, in an effort to bring down surging oil prices.

However, international oil prices, which had fallen the previous day, rose again. Tensions escalated as Iran continued attacks on the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is viewed as an alternative export route bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

In London, Brent crude for May delivery on ICE Futures Europe settled up 3.2% at $103.42 a barrel. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery rose 2.9% to $96.21.

Investors were also seen taking a wait-and-see stance ahead of the two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that begins today. A decision to hold the policy rate is widely viewed as a done deal at this meeting. Investors are watching to see what Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell says about the war involving Iran, the surge in oil prices, and resulting inflation concerns.

Mega-cap tech companies with market capitalizations above $1 trillion were mixed. Amazon and Alphabet gained in the 1% range, while Broadcom fell in the 1% range.

Micron jumped another 4.5% as expectations for a memory-chip supply shortage persisted ahead of its earnings release. It ended the day above a $500 billion market cap for the first time in the company’s history. Delta Air Lines surged 6.56% after raising its first-quarter earnings outlook.

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the federal funds futures market priced in a 78.8% probability that the policy rate will be held steady through June.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) fell 1.14 points (4.85%) from the previous session to 22.87.

Ko Jeong-sam, Hankyung.com reporter jsk@hankyung.com