PiCK
"Ceasefire possible" lifts Wall Street in sharp rebound as U.S., Iran speak in unison… Micron +5% [New York Market Briefing]
Summary
- It said Wall Street’s three major indexes—the Dow, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq—staged a sharp rebound on comments about a ceasefire by the U.S. and Iran.
- It reported a clear divergence across sectors, with technology stocks surging led by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, while the energy sector declined.
- It said major names such as Nvidia, Intel, Micron, and Snap strengthened, while the VIX plunged, reinforcing risk-on sentiment.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
Major U.S. stock indexes surged in a sharp rebound on Wall Street, buoyed by comments from U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who spoke in unison about a possible end to the war.
On the 31st (local time), at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,125.37 points (2.49%) from the previous session to 46,341.51, the S&P 500 rose 184.80 points (2.91%) to 6,528.52, and the Nasdaq Composite soared 795.99 points (3.83%) to 21,590.63, each ending the day higher.
The market rebounded sharply as ceasefire hopes flowed into equities.
Trump reiterated that ceasefire talks with Iran were going well.
Pezeshkian, in a phone call with European Council President António Costa, said that the "solution" was to halt the attacks, adding that Iran was "ready to end the war" if there were guarantees of no further attacks by the U.S. and Iran.
At one point, the S&P 500 spiked nearly 50 points within five minutes.
Still, the U.S. is continuing negotiations while also preparing for the risk of escalation. The U.S. military on the day deployed the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush—its third carrier for this war—along with its escort strike group to the Middle East. The USS Abraham Lincoln, previously deployed to the region, is operating in the Arabian Sea, while the USS Gerald R. Ford is docked at a Croatian port for repairs.
Most major sectors ended higher, led by a sharp rally in technology stocks. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged 6.24%. Communication services and technology rose 4%, while consumer discretionary and industrials climbed more than 3%.
By contrast, energy—which had surged on the Middle East war—fell more than 1%.
Among individual stocks, Nvidia gained 5.59%. Broadcom rose 5.54%, AMD added 3.77%, and Intel advanced 7.14%. Micron also rose 4.93% despite Citigroup lowering its price target.
Social media platform Snap jumped more than 14% on news that an activist hedge fund increased its stake in the company.
Economic data released on the day failed to draw investors’ attention.
In February, U.S. job openings edged down, showing little overall change. According to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) released by the U.S. Department of Labor, seasonally adjusted job openings totaled 6.882 million. The market consensus was 6.92 million.
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the federal funds rate futures market priced in a 1.8% probability that the policy rate would be raised by 25bp by December, effectively ruling out the possibility of rate hikes.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 5.36 points (17.51%) from the previous session to 25.25.
Han Kyung-woo, Hankyung.com reporter case@hankyung.com
Korea Economic Daily
hankyung@bloomingbit.ioThe Korea Economic Daily Global is a digital media where latest news on Korean companies, industries, and financial markets.
