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June 18, 2026 - 21:22
4 minutes
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street staged a comeback that saw stocks joining bonds higher after a peace deal between the US and Iran spurred optimism that a revival of the Strait of Hormuz will ease inflation risks.The bounce drove the S&P 500 up about 1%. A gauge of chipmakers rose to a record, with Intel Corp. soaring as President Donald Trump said the firm will work alongside Apple Inc. to design and produce semiconductors domestically. Treasury yields fell after a jump driven by worries the Federal Reserve would need to raise rates to curb price pressures. US oil edged lower.As the interim peace agreement took effect, shipping started returning to the Strait of Hormuz, with the US declaring an end to its blockade and a complex negotiating period over Tehran’s nuclear program beginning in earnest. Earlier Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social that “oil is flowing.”US Vice President JD Vance downplayed concerns Iran could eventually impose tolls on traffic through the vital energy waterway. A closure of the strait amid the war had lifted fuel prices, raising the risk of a global economic crisis.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 0.9% as of 3:20 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.3% The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% The MSCI World Index rose 0.3% CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4% The euro fell 0.4% to $1.1453 The British pound fell 0.7% to $1.3196 The Japanese yen fell 0.7% to 161.77 per dollar CryptocurrenciesBitcoin fell 2.8% to $62,593.37 Ether fell 3.5% to $1,684.8 BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 4.45% 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 was little changed Spot gold fell 1.2% to $4,204.19 an ounce Generic 1st ‘Co’ Future was little changed ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
