NEW YORK: US stocks ended sharply higher on Thursday, with indices extending gains after US President Donald Trump said he cancelled planned strikes against Iran, and on the eve of the market debut of Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The three major indices registered their biggest daily percentage gains since April 8, when the US and Iran agreed to a temporary ceasefire.
Trump's comments came hours before the expected strikes. Trump later told reporters at the White House that the US and Iran could sign a peace deal as soon as this weekend that would reopen shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Stocks added to their rebound from the prior session's selloff on the news. Chipmaker shares rallied and gave the S&P 500 its biggest boost, with the PHLX Semiconductor index rising 7.9% in its biggest one-day percentage gain since April 2025.
"Our technical indicators are looking relatively oversold here," said Robert Phipps, a director at Per Stirling Capital Management in Austin, Texas. "Just as we had gone up too far, too fast, we came down too far, too fast."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 929.97 points, or 1.86%, to 50,848.75, the S&P 500 gained 127.31 points, or 1.75%, to 7,394.30 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 640.16 points, or 2.54%, to 25,809.66.
The S&P 500 has pulled back since hitting a record closing high in early June, with the Middle East conflict stoking inflationary pressures. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 technology index confirmed a correction.
On Friday, all eyes will be on SpaceX shares, which are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq. SpaceX on Thursday priced the biggest-ever US initial public offering at US$135 per share, making Musk’s rocket and spacecraft manufacturer one of the world’s most valuable companies. The IPO raised a record US$75 billion on the sale of 555.56 million shares. It valued the company at US$1.77 trillion, a record for an initial offering.
"Where the stock is priced at is step one, but how the market digests the news is step two, and that, to me, is really, really important," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York. "The most important thing for investors to realize is the time frame for their investment."
Among the day's decliners, Oracle shares plunged 8.5% after the company projected capital spending plans for fiscal 2027 above Wall Street estimates.
Feeding inflation worries, data showed US producer prices increased more than expected in May, leading to the largest annual gain in over three years.
Separately, the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased marginally last week.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at its policy meeting next week, with investors pricing in at least one 25 basis point rate hike by the end of the year.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.74-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 247 new highs and 134 new lows on the NYSE.
On the Nasdaq, 3,587 stocks rose and 1,304 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.75-to-1 ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 27 new 52-week highs and 15 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 167 new highs and 144 new lows.
Volume on US exchanges was 21.41 billion shares, compared with the 20.7 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. — Reuters
