Both the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) closed higher on Wednesday after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire and a temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Meet Samuel – Your Personal Investing Prophet
- Start a conversation with TipRanks’ trusted, data-backed investment intelligence
- Ask Samuel about stocks, your portfolio, or the market and get instant, personalized insights in seconds
News That Moved the Stock Market Today
- Following the ceasefire, traffic through Hormuz remains limited, with four vessels safely crossing through. That’s well below the pre-war daily average of 135 ships.
- Iran threatened to keep the passageway closed after Israel struck several sites in Beirut.
- Officials from the U.S. and Iran are set to meet over the weekend in Islamabad for peace negotiations.
- President Trump announced a 50% tariff on any country that supplies Iran with weapons.
- Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the U.S. of violating three terms within Iran’s 10-point proposal. Ghalibaf pointed to Israel striking Lebanon, the entry of a drone into Iranian airspace, and restrictions on uranium enrichment.
- The odds of a 25 bps rate cut by year-end nearly doubled to 25.2% from 13.6% as oil futures plummeted.
- Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD) closed higher after Bank of America (BAC) raised its 2026 semiconductor revenue projection to $1.3 trillion from $1 trillion.
- Apple (AAPL) is a new favorite among retail investors and saw $65.3 million of net inflows on Tuesday.
- Tesla (TSLA) closed lower despite rolling out Full Self-Driving (FSD) version 14.3. Last year, CEO Elon Musk said the update would make vehicles “feel like it is sentient.”
Today’s Best-Performing Sector
Industrials was the best-performing sector on Wednesday, trailed closely by communication services. Brent crude oil futures (BZ) dropped by 12% following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, lowering fuel costs and potentially boosting profit margins for manufacturing, transportation, and logistics companies.
Several industrial stocks led the industrial sector’s gains, including:
- United Airlines (UAL)
- Vertiv Holdings (VRT)
- Comfort Systems USA (FIX)
- Cummins (CMI)
- GE Aerospace (GE)
Today’s Worst-Performing Sector
Meanwhile, the energy sector faced the largest drawdown. While industrial companies benefit from lower oil prices, energy companies struggle. With cheaper oil, producers and refiners are likely to see thinner profit margins, putting pressure on earnings. At the same time, energy is still the top-performing sector this year with a 34% return.
Notable energy stocks trading lower include: