Dow hits record high on Iran deal optimism, lower oil prices

By Twesha Dikshit and Joel Jose

Wall Street's main indexes rose on Monday, with the Dow touching an intraday high after the United States and Iran struck a preliminary agreement to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, leading to a sharp fall in crude prices.

The framework for a deal, however, did not address key issues such as Tehran's nuclear program and the conflict between Israel and Lebanon. The pact is expected to be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday.

Crude prices slid about 5% following the news and hit their lowest level since March, aiding shares of energy-sensitive airline and cruise stocks and hurting energy shares.

United Airlines rose 6.4%, while Delta Air Lines and American Airlines added 4.1% and 5.2%, respectively. Norwegian Cruise and Carnival Corp advanced 5.2% each.

Shares of oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron fell about 5% each. The S&P 500 energy index was down 3.9%.

The CBOE Volatility Index, considered Wall Street's fear gauge, slipped to a more than one-week low at 16.31 points. It had risen to a more than two-month high the previous week.

The three main indexes were on track for a third straight session of gains, recovering after geopolitical tensions and a pullback in AI-related stocks paused Wall Street's record climb.

"The hope is that maybe with some pressure off of inflation... at some point, the Federal Reserve may be able to cut interest rates," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.

"This is a much better environment for equities going forward."

Chip stocks moved higher, with Micron soaring 9% after multiple brokerages raised its price targets, while Nvidia was up 2.3%, Intel added 5.2% and Marvell Technology rose 5.5%.The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index gained 4.8%, while the S&P 500 tech index rose 2.9%.Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were in the green, with technology shares leading gains.

A resumption of oil flows from the Middle East and easing crude prices could give the U.S. Federal Reserve room to maneuver as it grapples with inflation.

Last week's inflation data showed higher energy costs filtering into consumer inflation for May, sharpening focus on the central bank's outlook at its policy meeting, due later this week, which will be Chair Kevin Warsh's first since taking charge.

Traders expect the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged this week, but have pared back expectations for a 25-basis-point hike by the end of the year to 70%, from fully priced in the previous week, according to LSEG data.

At 09:54 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 590.87 points, or 1.15%, to 51,793.13, the S&P 500 added 118.27 points, or 1.59%, to 7,549.73, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 651.90 points, or 2.52%, to 26,540.74.

SpaceX's shares rose 7.9% after the Elon Musk-led firm ended its blockbuster IPO with a more than $2 trillion valuation. Markets were relieved by the smooth trading during its landmark Nasdaq launch, setting a new template for companies and exchanges bracing for the highly anticipated OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs expected later this year.

In other movers, Paramount Skydance's shares rose 3.4% after the U.S. Justice Department cleared its Warner Bros acquisition.

Fox tumbled 18.2% after the company said it would buy Roku in a $22 billion deal. The streaming platform fell 2.5%.Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.08-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 3.39-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 38 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 165 new highs and 32 new lows.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian, Twesha Dikshit and Joel Jose in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Pooja Desai)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 10:18 AM.