U.S. stock futures jumped on Friday morning after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” in a post on X. Early Friday, futures trended higher as President Donald Trump said that the war in Iran “should be ending pretty soon.” This remark followed his announcement of a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were up 0.87%, 0.78%, and 1.10%, respectively, at 9:05 a.m. EDT on April 17.
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In a post on X, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi stated that passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz will be completely open for the remaining period of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
Oil prices fell on news of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. At the time of writing, the international oil benchmark Brent (CM:BZ) was down 8.33% to $91.10 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CM:CL) plunged 9.14% to $86.06 per barrel.
In Thursday’s regular trading session, major stock indices closed higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both setting fresh records. The Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, and Dow rose 0.36%, 0.26%, and 0.24%, respectively.
Turning to trending stocks, shares of streaming giant Netflix (NFLX) fell more than 10% in Friday’s pre-market trading even after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results. Investors were disappointed by news that co-founder and chairman Reed Hastings was stepping down from the board in June, as well as by a weak Q2 outlook.
Meanwhile, Alcoa (AA) stock was down 2% after the aluminum producer missed earnings expectations.