This content was published on
June 18, 2026 - 19:00
5 minutes
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street staged a comeback that saw stocks climbing as oil fell after a peace deal between the US and Iran spurred optimism that a revival of the Strait of Hormuz will ease inflation risks.The equity rebound drove the S&P 500 up 1%. A gauge of chipmakers hit all-time highs, with Intel Corp. jumping as President Donald Trump said the firm will work alongside Apple Inc. to design and produce semiconductors domestically. Treasuries bounced after a rout driven by worries the Federal Reserve would need to raise rates to curb price pressures. US oil slid to $75.President Trump formally agreed on an interim accord with Iran, shifting focus to the planned reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a complex 60-day negotiating period over Tehran’s nuclear program.A growing stream of stranded oil is making its way out of the vital energy waterway and Kuwait said it will start ramping up production, as the peace deal sparks a flurry of activity that’s already pushing Middle East flows toward pre-war levels.Today marks the start of the 60-day period for US-Iran talks that should lead to a final agreement, Vice President JD Vance told reporters at the White House. If the deal holds, analysts say that could take substantial pressure off of energy costs and inflation.“The progress toward releasing oil supply from the Persian Gulf has supported equity prices,” said Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital Markets. “Lower energy costs have also eased forward inflationary concerns and led to meaningful declines in longer-dated Treasury yields.”Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh this week vowed to restore price stability after officials left rates unchanged and signaled growing support for interest-rate hikes.Should lower energy costs continue to filter through to inflation data, policymakers may ultimately find sufficient justification to keep rates unchanged for an extended period rather than hiking, according to Fawad Razaqzada at Forex.com.“My view remains that inflation should moderate gradually over the coming months, and this might allow the Fed to maintain current policy settings rather than implement fresh tightening,” he said.Meantime, the Bank of England held rates at 3.75% as it said the recent fall in oil prices was “encouraging,” even while two of the nine policymakers voted for an immediate quarter-point hike over concerns of persistent inflation.Corporate Highlights:SpaceX is proving that even the largest-ever IPO is not immune to the type of volatility that tends to rock big companies after they go public, with the shares falling for a second straight day. Bankers for SpaceX are preparing to hold calls with investors as soon as next week to discuss a potential bond offering, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Amazon.com Inc. is in talks to sell its custom-made artificial intelligence chips for use in other companies’ data centers, a key expansion of its efforts to cut into Nvidia Corp.’s dominance. Accenture Plc said it’s expecting to reel in less revenue in the coming months, as artificial intelligence upends the consulting services industry and clients paused business due to the conflict in the Middle East. Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. will open pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI on June 25, kicking off the launch of one of the most-anticipated video games of all time. What Bloomberg strategists say…“The semiconductor rally is built on the premise that AI spending will continue for sometime. Yet in a new era of traders contemplating more Fed rate hikes, chip stocks could confront a higher bar for more blowout gains beyond this year.”—Kristine Aquino, Macro Strategist, Markets Live. For the full analysis, click here.Some of the main moves in markets:StocksThe S&P 500 rose 1% as of 1 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.3% The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% The MSCI World Index rose 0.5% CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3% The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1463 The British pound fell 0.6% to $1.3218 The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 161.43 per dollar CryptocurrenciesBitcoin fell 2.7% to $62,609.55 Ether fell 3.5% to $1,685.07 BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries declined five basis points to 4.44% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.93% Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.76% CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.1% to $75.17 a barrel Spot gold fell 1% to $4,216.33 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
