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Dow leaps 850 points, S&P 500 and Nasdaq notch third straight record in stunning rally as US-Iran diplomacy gains steam

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US stocks surged to fresh record highs on Friday after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz is open for now, a major step in easing US-Iran war tensions.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 1.2% to close above 7,100 for the first time in its third consecutive record close. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose a stronger 1.5%, also reaching all-time highs in its longest winning streak since 1992. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) jumped 1.8%, or more than 850 points.

Futures on international benchmark Brent (BZ=F) and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) fell nearly 10% after Iran’s Foreign Minister said on X on Monday that the critical pathway was “completely open” to commercial traffic during the remaining period of an Israel-Lebanon 10-day ceasefire.

Markets recovered losses tied to the recent Iran conflict at a stunning speed, with tech leading the rally. Even bitcoin (BTC-USD) has added about $10,000 since the start of the month.

Peace talks between the US and Iran could come as early as this weekend, according to a CBS report, citing a phone interview with President Trump.

Separately, Trump stated that Iran agreed to suspend its nuclear program, according to Bloomberg.

In corporate news, Netflix (NFLX) declined sharply in after-hours trading despite reporting better-than-expected first quarter results. Shares dropped more than 9% as investors focused on a weaker-than-anticipated outlook for the second quarter.

LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER 17 updates

  • Ines Ferré

    Dow jumps , S&P 500 and Nasdaq post third straight record to cap stunning market recovery

    Stocks pushed higher on Friday, capping a stunning market recovery over the past 13 trading days as Middle East tensions eased.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 1.8%, or more than 850 points.

    The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 1.1% to close above 7,100 for the first time, closing out its third record in a row this week.

    The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained a stronger 1.5%, also closing at a record high in its longest winning streak since 1992.

    Oil prices tumbled, and markets touched session highs after Iran’s foreign minister indicated the Strait of Hormuz would be open to commercial traffic for the duration of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire.

  • Why Dow chemical is down 10% today

    Chemical commodity stocks joined energy stocks as the day’s worst performers after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz was open, raising the prospect of a lasting ceasefire that could alleviate supply disruptions.

    Dow Inc. (DOW) fell about 10% in afternoon trading, while LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) dropped 11% and CF Industries (CF) fell 9%.

    Chemical commodity prices have risen since the beginning of the war. And analysts expect them to remain elevated for some time, even if a ceasefire is reached.

    The Middle East is the largest exporter of commodity chemicals worldwide, and many chemicals and plastics are derived from crude oil.

    But Dow and LyondellBasell were seen as having an advantage during the energy shock as they rely more on lower-cost natural gas liquids in North America to make their products, such as plastic packaging and polyurethane.

    And changes in the supply and demand dynamics are no small thing for Dow, as plastics make up over half of its business.

  • Ines Ferré

    Bitcoin, gold, silver surge as investors go risk-on

    Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rallied more than 4% to trade near $78,000, its highest level since early February, as markets across the board surged on Friday over optimism that the Middle East tensions were easing.

    The world’s largest cryptocurrency was breaking above its weeks-long trading range of about $65,000 to $75,000.

    Gold (GC=F) also surged more than 1.5% as the US dollar declined. Silver (SI=F) popped 4%.

  • Jared Blikre

    The software rebound is real, but not every big name is back

    Software stocks are ripping this week, but the rebound still looks uneven under the surface.

    The fastest money is chasing cloud and growth names. Oracle (ORCL) is up nearly 30% this week, while RingCentral (RNG), Datadog (DDOG), Snowflake (SNOW), Shopify (SHOP), Atlassian (TEAM), and ServiceNow (NOW) are all up 15% or more. That is a strong snapback in the higher-beta corners of software.

    The giant of the group, Microsoft (MSFT), deserves its own mention. “Mr. Softee” is having its best week since the March 2020 pandemic panic low and just kissed its 100-day moving average. But it is still 23% below its all-time high — the furthest off its peak of any “Magnificent Seven” stock — a reminder that software is still more catch-up trade than market leader.

    That same split shows up over the full 13-day rally off the March 30 low. Snowflake is still down 6%, while ServiceNow, HubSpot (HUBS), and Intuit (INTU) are also still down single digits. Salesforce (CRM) is still slightly negative even after an 11% jump this week.

    So yes, software is back in rally mode. But this still looks more like a selective rebound than a full return to leadership.

  • Myles Udland

    Figma stock sinks after Anthropic unveils Claude Design

    On Friday, Figma (FIG) stock fell as much as 6.8% after Anthropic unveiled Claude Design, a new product powered by its Opus 4.7 model that lets users “collaborate with Claude to create polished visual work like designs, prototypes, slides, one-pagers, and more.”

    Figma, which went public last year in one of the year’s biggest IPOs, said in its S-1 filing that, “Figma is where teams come together to turn ideas into the world’s best digital products and experiences.”

    In other words, Figma is a collaborative design tool, which is what Anthropic just announced.

    Since the company went public last summer, Figma stock has dropped more than 80% from its post-IPO high.

    Earlier this week, Anthropic’s chief product officer, Mike Krieger, stepped down from Figma’s board.

    Krieger previously co-founded Instagram and the AI news app Artifact, which Yahoo acquired in 2024.

  • Strategy stock jumps 14% as crypto rallies on ceasefire hopes

    Strategy (MSTR) stock flew 14% higher, tracking bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) rise on Friday as hopes of a lasting ceasefire took hold.

    Bitcoin was up 5% to trade above $78,000, its highest level since early February. That prompted a surge in crypto stocks, like Robinhood (HOOD) and Coinbase (COIN) (both up 6% today) as well as bitcoin treasury companies, like Strategy.

    The turn higher in cryptocurrencies came after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz was open, a positive signal for the war’s resolution. Still, while stocks made record highs on Thursday, bitcoin remains well off its high of $126,198 reached on Oct. 6, 2025.

    Shares of the Michael Saylor-led company are now positive for the year

  • Jared Blikre

    This stock market rally is going global again

    Stocks outside the US are back at record highs too.

    The iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF (ACWX) just hit its first intraday record high since Feb. 25, a reminder that this rally is not just about the US.

    Remember last year, when international diversification was all the rage as the dollar was sinking? That dynamic is showing up again. The US Dollar Index (DX-Y.NYB) has fallen in nine of the last 10 sessions for a 2.4% drop, giving a lift to returns not only in the US but around the world.

    The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is up 12% over the last 13 trading days and has risen in 12 of them. But several country ETFs have been even stronger. Korea (EWY) is up 33% in that stretch and nearly 60% year to date. Taiwan (EWT) is up over 20% in the last 13 days and more than 30% this year. Greece (GREK), Poland (EPOL), Chile (ECH), and Turkey (TUR) are all beating the US in the current surge.

    A few laggards remain, including India (INDA) and China (MCHI). But the bigger read is that global leadership is broadening again.

  • Jared Blikre

    Big Tech joins the record-high list

    Big Tech is back.

    After three straight days of record closes in the S&P 500 (^GSPC), leadership is rotating into the place investors watch most for “risk-on” conviction. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) is the first large-cap sector ETF to rocket back to record highs.

    But this rally isn’t just for the tech giants. The Invesco Small-cap Tech ETF (PSCT) just hit its fifth straight record.

    And the momentum inside tech is loud. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) has now logged eight straight intraday record highs and is on track for a 13th consecutive day of gains — a streak matched by XLK, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC), and the Nasdaq 100 (^NDX).

    Here are this morning’s intraday record highs:

  • Jake Conley

    US stocks push above Thursday’s record highs at the opening bell

    The US stock market pushed higher at the opening bell on Friday after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz is “completely open” to commercial traffic.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) led gains with a pickup of 1.2%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained a stronger 1% after both indexes closed out Thursday at all-time highs.

    Futures on international benchmark Brent (BZ=F) fell 10%, while those on US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) fell a slightly steeper 10.5% after Iran’s Foreign Minister said on X that the critical shipping lane was “completely open” to commercial traffic on Friday morning.

  • Jake Conley

    Oil plunges after Iran foreign minister says Strait of Hormuz is ‘completely open’

    Oil prices plunged on Friday after Iran’s foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical chokepoint for global energy flows, was fully open to commercial traffic.

    Futures on Brent crude (BZ=F), the international pricing benchmark, fell 10% to trade below $90 per barrel, while those on US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CL=F) fell by 10.6% to trade near $81. Both products opened the week above $100.

    “In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire,” Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in a post on X. He added that vessels will be allowed to use the “coordinated route as already announced” by the regime.

    The announcement comes after Israel and Lebanon agreed to a temporary 10-day ceasefire on Thursday, taking some pressure off one of the key sticking points in negotiations between the US and Iran to end the war in the Middle East.

  • Jared Blikre

    The market’s most hated rally just keeps getting stronger

    This rally still feels doubtful — but the tape keeps acting like a roaring bull market.

    The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) has now logged a 12-day winning streak, only the third such run since 1990. The Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) is doing the same for the seventh time in that span, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (^SOX) has only one other 12-day streak in data going back to 1994. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) has only three other 12-day streaks since its 1999 inception.

    The closest echo to this convergence of streaks is July 2009 — the only other time the Nasdaq Composite, Nasdaq 100, and XLK lined up like this.

    It was also one of the most hated rallies I’ve ever seen — and it happened well below record highs.

    This time, the backdrop is even harder to brush off. The S&P 500 (^GSPC), Nasdaq Composite, Nasdaq 100, Russell 2000 (^RUT), Dow Transports (^DJT), and SOX are already at records, while XLK missed its own high by just $0.05 on Thursday.

    Now the question is whether today brings another pause — or one more breakout.

  • Premarket stock movers on Friday: Netflix, Alcoa, Affirm

    As the S&P 500 and Nasdaq stand to open above records on Friday, here’s a look at some active individual stocks trading on Friday morning:

    Netflix (NFLX) stock dived 10% in premarket trading after shareholders were disappointed by the company’s second quarter guidance and the company’s co-founder Reed Hastings announced he was stepping down from the board.

    Alcoa (AA) stock fell 1.8% in morning trading after its first quarter results fell short of estimates, even as aluminum prices have climbed due to tariffs on the metal.

    Affirm (AFRM) stock jumped nearly 6% after Morgan Stanley named it a top stock pick. Analyst James Faucette argued that the company’s private credit risk is overstated and that it has a high likelihood of upward revisions to its margins and earnings targets.

  • Stock market notches one of its fastest turnarounds in years

    The stock market’s recovery in April has been astounding.

    As Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi writes, a convergence of diplomatic optimism, tech leadership, resilient first quarter bank earnings, and a cooler-than-expected Producer Price Index (PPI) helped the market climb a wall of worry to hit fresh records.

    Sozzi reports:

    Read more here.

  • World stocks hold near record highs, oil below $100

    SINGAPORE/LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) – World stocks held near record highs on Friday and were set for their third straight week of gains, while benchmark oil prices were pinned below $100 a barrel ahead of a crucial weekend that could pave the way for a near-term resolution ‌of the Iran war.

    …

    In stocks, MSCI’s world share index, which tumbled in March due to the war, hit a record high on Thursday and has risen 8.5% so far in April.

    “The ‌debate is ‘has this gone too far too fast?’, and ‘what in ⁠the world are equities thinking rallying so hard when oil is still at $100?,'” said Ben Laidler, head of macro and equity strategy at Bradesco BBI.

    “But that misses the point,” Laidler said, “(Investors) are forward-looking. Relative valuations look pretty good, earnings remain very strong, and it’s a rare geopolitical ⁠event that hasn’t been a buying opportunity.”

    Read more here.

  • Uber inks single biggest European food group buyout with Delivery Hero

    Financial Times reports:

    Read more here.

  • Tesla targets Taiwan to hire chip experts for Terafab

    Reuters reports:

    Read more here.

  • Oil holds below $100 as week nears end with peace talks settling markets

    Bloomberg reports:

    Read more here.



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