U.S. Stock Indices Post Strong Gains, Nasdaq Extends 13-Day Rally; Oil Prices Plunge on Strait of Hormuz Reopening

Gate News message, April 18 — U.S. stock indices closed sharply higher on April 17, with the S&P 500 rising 1.2% to 7,126.06, the Nasdaq Composite gaining 1.52% to 24,468.48, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 1.79% to 49,447.43. The Nasdaq extended its winning streak to 13 consecutive trading days, matching the longest rally since 1992.

Major technology stocks led the advance, with Nvidia up 1.68%, Google-A up 1.68%, Apple gaining 2.59%, Tesla rising 3.01%, and Meta climbing 1.73%. Airline and cruise stocks outperformed, with American Airlines gaining 4.16%, United Airlines up 7.12%, Royal Caribbean Cruises rising 7.34%, and Carnival Cruise Line advancing 6.99%. Energy stocks declined sharply, with BP down over 6%, TotalEnergies and Shell each falling over 4%, ExxonMobil dropping 3.65%, and Chevron declining 2.21%.

Chinese-listed stocks posted mixed results. Kingsoft Cloud rose over 5%, Zhihu gained over 3%, Alibaba climbed 1.75%, Futu Holdings advanced 1.13%, and Pinduoduo rose 1.04%, while Baidu added 0.88% and JD.com rose 0.86%. Conversely, iQIYI fell 0.4%, Li Auto declined 0.7%, and NIO dropped 0.73%.

Precious metals surged on Middle East tensions. Spot gold rose 1.05% to $4,837.49 per ounce, COMEX gold futures climbed 0.85% to $4,849.40 per ounce, spot silver jumped 3.09% to $80.779 per ounce, and COMEX silver futures gained 3.09% to $81.720 per ounce.

Crude oil prices fell sharply. WTI May futures declined $10.84, or 11.45%, to $83.85 per barrel, while Brent June futures dropped $9.01, or 9.07%, to $90.38 per barrel. The decline followed announcements regarding the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Trump stated on April 17 that Iran had declared the strait “fully open and ready to resume full navigation.” Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi said the country would open the strait to all commercial vessels during a ceasefire period between Lebanon and Israel.

However, subsequent statements revealed discord. Iran’s Parliament Speaker Kalib Araf stated on the morning of April 18 that Trump’s seven statements issued within one hour “are not true.” Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Baghaei said on April 17 that transferring enriched uranium to the United States is “not an option” and rejected any agreements involving the transfer of enriched uranium abroad.

Market analysts offered cautious outlooks. Matt Powers, managing partner at Powers Advisory Group, noted that markets may have touched a near-term bottom but remain highly dependent on external factors, describing the current environment as a typical “headline-driven market.” He highlighted that oil prices, Federal Reserve policy timing, and geopolitical developments could rapidly shift market sentiment. Powers added that the swift recovery in U.S. equities reflects strong underlying fundamentals and “demonstrates the market’s considerable resilience.”

UBS strategists indicated that U.S. stocks have room to rise over the coming year, supported by strong corporate profit growth and a robust economy. Mark Haefele, UBS analyst, stated, “Since the Iran conflict began, we have advised investors to prepare for a mid-term stock market rally. We still believe there is strong upside potential for equities in the remainder of the year from current S&P 500 levels. Corporate earnings results disclosed so far show virtually no negative impact from the Iran conflict.”