No ceasefire deal → Mixed close on hopes for safe passage through Hormuz [New York Stock Market Briefing]

Major Wall Street indexes ended mixed. Stocks opened sharply lower after hawkish remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, but pared some losses on reports that Iran is preparing a draft protocol with Oman regarding safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

On the 2nd (local time), at the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61.07 points (0.13%) from the previous session to close at 46,504.67.

The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 rose 7.37 points (0.11%) to 6,582.70, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 38.234 points (0.18%) to end at 21,879.18.

After President Trump said in a national address the previous day that he would deliver an “extremely powerful strike” against Iran over the next 2–3 weeks, expectations for a ceasefire faded and Wall Street opened sharply lower.

However, intraday losses were pared and the market turned positive after reports that Iran is preparing a protocol to monitor vessels transiting Oman and the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil continued to look unsettled. Brent crude futures for June delivery settled at $109.03 a barrel, up 7.8% from the prior session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May delivery also surged 11.4% to settle at $111.54 a barrel.

In the bond market, concerns over Trump’s speech were reflected. The yield on the rate-sensitive 2-year U.S. Treasury rose 0.2 bp (1 bp = 0.01% point) from the previous session, holding around 3.80%. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield edged down to 4.309% from the prior day but remains elevated.

By stock, Blue Owl Capital, where problems tied to private credit impairments have surfaced, fell more than 1%. Additional selling emerged after reports that redemption requests at two large private-credit funds reached 22% and were capped at 5%.

Tesla tumbled 5.4% after reporting first-quarter deliveries (358,023 vehicles) that missed expectations.

U.S. markets will be closed on the 3rd in observance of Good Friday.

Noh Jeong-dong, Hankyung.com reporter dong2@hankyung.com