Oil returned to the early days of the war, the S&P 500 jumped to an all-time high

The S&P 500 jumped 1.2% to an all-time high and closed with a third straight week of big gains, the longest streak since Halloween. A freer flow of oil will take pressure off the price of not only gasoline but also oil for groceries and all kinds of other products which are moved by cars. It can even help people pay less in credit card interest and mortgage payments.

the Dow The Jones Industrial Average surged 1,100 points before paring its gains to 868, or 1.8%. the Nasdaq The composition increased by 1.5%.

The US stock market has jumped more than 12% since the hit under late March in the hope that the United States and Iran can avoid a worst-case scenario for the global economy though their war. Friday to reopen the Strait of Hormuzwhich may be temporary, is the clearest signal for optimism, and President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the war “must end soon.”

The price of a barrel of benchmark US crude fell sharply after Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, posted on X that the passage for all commercial ships through the strait was “declared fully open” as a cease-fire seems to have been made in Lebanon. He said it would remain open for the remainder of the ceasefire period, and US oil prices fell 9.4% to settle at $82.59 per barrel.

Brent crude, the international standard, fell 9.1% to settle at $90.38 per barrel. To be sure, it remains above its $70 price from before the war, which shows that some caution still exists in the financial markets.

Many times since the war began, optimization on Wall Street there is easily damaged in doubt about the possible end of the fight. That in turn causes wild and sudden changes in the prices of everything from stocks to bonds to oil.

Minutes after Iran’s foreign minister announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said on his social media network that the The US Navy’s blockade of Iranian ports remained at “full strength” until the two sides reached a war agreement. He, however, also suggested that “it is necessary to go as soon as most of the points have been negotiated” and emphasized this by using all capital letters.

Companies with high fuel bills have soared to some of Wall Street’s biggest gains since the drop in oil prices.

United Airlines flew 7.1% higher, and Southwest Airlines increased by 5.1%. A day earlier, the head of the International Energy Agency said that Europe has “probably six weeks or more” of jet fuel supplies left.

Cruise ship operators, who guzzle fuel, are also steaming higher. Royal Caribbean Group gained 7.3%, and Carnival increased by 7%.

Housing and auto-related companies also got relief from falling oil prices.

With little threat of high inflation crippling the economy, the continued decline in oil prices will convince the The Federal Reserve to continue its cuts in interest rates to help the economy. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.24% from 4.32% late Thursday, and the lower yield could lower rates on mortgages and other loans that go to US households and businesses.

Builders FirstSourcea supplier of windows and other products, increased by 5.5%, and homebuilder PulteGroup earned 5% in the hope that lower mortgage rates will encourage more people to buy houses. Caravan increased by 7% because lower loan rates can get more customers for new cars.

A strong start to the earnings reporting season for major US companies also helped support the US stock market, and several financial companies joined the list delivering more earnings at the start of 2026 than analysts had expected.

State Street increased 2.5%, and Fifth Third The Bancorp added 1.7% after both reported better-than-expected results for the latest quarter.

They helped offset a 9.7% slide for Netflixwhich fell even though it gave a better profit than expected. It did not raise its forecast for revenue growth for the full year, which analysts said may have disappointed some investors.

It also says Reed Hastingscofounder and chairman of the streaming company, will down from his board of directors in June when his term expires.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 84.78 points to 7,126.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 868.71 to 49,447.43, and the Nasdaq composite rose 365.78 to 24,468.48.

In stock markets abroad, stock indices jumped in Europe after Iran’s announcement about the Strait of Hormuz. France’s CAC 40 jumped 2%, and Germany’s DAX returned 2.3%.

In Asia, where trading ended the day before the announcement, indices were weaker. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.8%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9% for two of the bigger losses.

___

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.