NEW YORK, April 9, 2026, 13:17 EDT
By 12:40 p.m. ET on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 247.66 points, or 0.52%, at 48,155.97, tacking on to Wednesday’s massive 1,326-point rally as new indications of easing Middle East tensions calmed Wall Street nerves. The S&P 500 climbed 0.50%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.60%.
On Thursday, headlines continued to drive market moves. The prior day’s rally had followed a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, yet traders weren’t convinced the truce would last, or that shipments through the Strait of Hormuz—responsible for roughly 20% of the world’s oil and gas—would resume typical volumes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments abruptly shifted sentiment. Netanyahu said Israel plans to start peace negotiations with Lebanon, with Hezbollah’s disarmament on the table. Oil, which had surged earlier, reversed sharply—sliding more than $4 a barrel after his remarks. That drop gave stocks a lift.
That’s significant for the Dow, the 30-member index packed with major U.S. firms—cheaper fuel and shipping could give some relief to both industrials and consumer stocks. Still, oil prices were sticking close to 40% above where they sat before the conflict. LSEG data also indicated traders now assign just a 30% probability to the Fed cutting rates by a quarter point before year-end, a sharp drop from 56% only a day prior.
Amazon surged 4.3% after disclosing its cloud unit’s AI services are now generating annualized revenue above $15 billion. Within the Dow, gains in Caterpillar and Honeywell counterbalanced losses from Salesforce and IBM.
The announcement landed just a day after the Dow notched its sharpest daily gain since April 9, 2025, surging 2.85% as news of the ceasefire sent crude tumbling under $100 a barrel and fueled a widespread relief rally. Baird’s Ross Mayfield noted the boost was even more pronounced overseas, with “most other countries more exposed to an energy shock and a food shock than the U.S.,” he said. Reuters
Now comes the tougher stretch. HSBC strategists, including Murat Ulgen, said in a note the truce “may have bought some time, but it does not fully remove the risk of renewed escalation.” Markets could be forced to reprice fast if supply routes remain blocked. Reuters
Fresh economic numbers kept a lid on investor optimism. The Commerce Department reported a 0.4% February rise in the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index—the Federal Reserve’s inflation benchmark. Separate data pointed to a slowdown: U.S. economic growth cooled to 0.5% in the fourth quarter. And from the Fed’s March meeting minutes, out Wednesday, more policymakers were considering new rate hikes if inflation proves sticky.
Selective buying dominated the session, with investors staying choosy. “It’s very difficult to trade a conflict where the protagonists don’t even know what they want,” said Peter Kinsella, head of investment services UK at UBP. Dustin Thackeray at Crewe Advisors called the recent slump in software stocks “profit-taking and repositioning,” not a new wave of panic. Reuters
The Dow’s still riding the ceasefire bounce, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq tagging along in positive territory. But with oil prices climbing again, or if Friday’s inflation data runs hot, that lift could vanish fast.
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