Wall Street staged a convincing comeback today after Monday’s Iran-driven selloff, with all three major indexes closing higher and two of them notching fresh all-time records. The S&P 500 rose 0.81% to close at a record 7,259.22, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.03%, also closing at a record 25,326.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 356 points, or 0.73%, to end at 49,298.25. CNBC
The biggest tailwind of the session came from the energy complex. WTI crude futures dropped nearly 4% to settle at $102.27 per barrel, and Brent crude fell roughly the same to close at $109.87 — giving equities a meaningful boost as lower oil prices eased inflation fears and improved the consumer spending outlook. That’s a sharp reversal from Monday, when WTI surged over 4% to $106.42 and Brent jumped nearly 6% to $114.44 following Iranian missile activity. CNBCCNBC
THE WAR AND THE STRAIT
The U.S.-Iran conflict remained the dominant macro story, but the tone shifted meaningfully from Monday’s fear to Tuesday’s cautious reassurance. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held a Pentagon briefing and stated flatly that “the ceasefire is not over,” even after Iranian forces fired on U.S. ships guiding commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, resulting in the U.S. sinking several small Iranian boats. CNBC
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine acknowledged that Iran has attacked U.S. forces more than ten times since the April 8 ceasefire, but said those actions fell below the threshold of “major combat operations.” He described Tuesday as a “quieter” day in the strait. CBS News
The policy framework around the conflict also came into sharper relief today. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that Operation Epic Fury — the original combat campaign launched against Iran in February — has officially ended, and that the U.S. is now focused on “Project Freedom,” the effort to escort commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Rubio characterized U.S. military action in the strait as strictly defensive. Hegseth warned Iran that any attack on U.S. troops or commercial shipping would be met with “overwhelming and devastating American firepower,” while stressing the mission is temporary in scope and duration. CNNThe National
More than 1,550 ships remain stranded in the Strait of Hormuz according to U.S. officials, and traffic in the waterway is still largely at a standstill, though the U.S. did successfully escort two commercial vessels and several Navy destroyers through on Monday. Iran’s parliament speaker warned that his country has “not even begun yet” its response to the U.S. push to reopen the waterway, keeping a lid on investor optimism. Al Jazeera
EARNINGS AND MOVERS
Earnings drove some of the session’s biggest individual moves. Pinterest surged 15% after delivering Q2 revenue guidance of $1.13–$1.15 billion, topping analyst expectations. Duolingo shed around 13% after monthly active users came in below estimates. Palantir slipped nearly 3% despite beating earnings estimates by a wide margin. Tyson Foods jumped 8% after reporting Q2 earnings of $0.87 per share, well ahead of the $0.76 consensus. On the stranger-news front, GameStop was down slightly after proposing to acquire eBay for roughly $56 billion in cash and stock — a move that sent eBay shares up on the offer premium. CNBC + 2
Micron Technology surged 10% on the day, surpassing a $700 billion market cap, extending a nearly 700% rally over the past year amid strength in memory and computer hardware stocks. TheStreet
ECONOMIC DATA
The March JOLTS report showed job openings slipping slightly to 6.87 million, essentially in line with estimates, while the hiring rate jumped sharply to 3.5% — a 0.4 percentage point monthly gain. The data painted a picture of a labor market that remains broadly healthy even if it is no longer running hot. On trade, the goods and services deficit for March came in at $60.3 billion, up slightly from February but below consensus. On an annual basis, the gap fell $211 billion from a year ago as exports climbed 12% and imports fell 9.1% — the last data point before Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs took full effect in April 2025. CNBCCNBC
FUTURES AND THE OVERNIGHT OUTLOOK
Index futures are pointing modestly higher heading into Wednesday’s session, with technology names continuing to lead. Asian markets provided the strongest overnight performance, with gains driven by optimism over Chinese economic support measures. European markets showed mixed but generally stable trading. The near-term direction will almost certainly hinge on two things: how the Strait of Hormuz situation evolves overnight, and whether the stream of earnings reports continues to come in ahead of estimates. With oil prices still elevated by historical standards and the ceasefire under daily stress, the market’s ability to keep making new records will require the geopolitical situation to stay in its current uneasy equilibrium. Stl
The Fed remains in the background as a wildcard. The latest services PMI showed prices holding firm and employment still contracting, leaving the central bank little room to ease even as global demand softens. Traders will be watching Thursday’s initial jobless claims and Friday’s CPI print closely for any shift in that calculus.
Stay cautious, stay informed. Markets close Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. ET.
