Dow jumps 1,125 points on Iran ceasefire hopes
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- Dow Jones rose 1,125.07 points (2.49%) to 46,341.21, the S&P 500 gained 185.27 points (2.92%) to 6,528.99, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 795.99 points (3.83%) to 21,590.63.
- Bill Northey of U.S. Bank Wealth Management attributed the rally to "speculation around an earlier off-ramp, or a cessation of hostilities" in the month-long Iran war, with capital markets positioning for normal energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
- The bounce did little to reverse broader damage: the S&P 500 and Dow remain on track for their deepest quarterly declines since 2022, and both ended last week 10% below record-high closes in confirmed corrections.
- Nvidia, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Amazon all posted big gains, the PHLX chip index jumped, CoreWeave rallied after securing an $8.5 billion loan to expand AI infrastructure, and Marvell Technology surged after Nvidia invested $2 billion in the firm.
- The oil spike stemming from the Iran war has revived inflation worries, and money market traders now price the Federal Reserve as more likely to raise rates than cut them by year-end, per CME's FedWatch tool.
- Unilever agreed to separate its food unit and merge it with McCormick in a cash-and-stock deal valuing the spice maker at ~$44.8 billion; McCormick shares fell on the announcement.
- Government data showed U.S. job openings fell more than expected in February, with hiring dropping to its lowest level in nearly six years.
Why it matters: Today's relief rally masks deeper damage: the Dow and S&P 500 remain 10% below record highs and on track for their worst quarter since 2022. The same oil spike fueling the bounce has revived inflation fears and flipped trader expectations toward a Fed rate hike by year-end, a contradictory shift given the simultaneous war-driven growth concerns.
