US STOCKS-Wall Street advances as investors hopeful of Mideast de-escalation
By Purvi Agarwal and Twesha Dikshit
March 25 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose on Wednesday as prospects of a de-escalation in the Middle East conflict allayed some fears around prolonged energy supply disruptions and lifted investor sentiment.
Iran said it considered the U.S. proposal delivered by Pakistan excessive, and demanded Tehran's sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. A senior Iranian official said talks could be held in Pakistan or Turkey if they went ahead.
The comments are among rare signs that Tehran might consider diplomatic proposals despite denying any negotiations in public. Global markets drew comfort from earlier reports the U.S. was seeking a ceasefire, and hoped for restoration of shipping through the crucial strait.
"This is investors really just trying to fill in the gaps of a lack of tangible news. The fact that the news stopped getting worse this week and we're not seeing escalations is by itself good news," said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist for Nationwide.
Hackett also said institutional investors had moved to the sidelines, and that set the market up for gains, if and when there was some resolution to the conflict.
Oil prices sank 4%. Cruise operators including Norwegian Cruise Line NCLH.N gained 2.4%, with the S&P 500 consumer discretionary index .SPLRCD up 1%. Airlines were also higher, with the S&P Composite 1500 Passenger Airlines index .SPCOMAIR up 1%.
At 11:47 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 284.29 points, or 0.61%, to 46,408.35, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 34.74 points, or 0.53%, to 6,591.11 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 165.42 points, or 0.76%, to 21,927.31.
All sectors on the S&P 500 were higher, barring financials .SPSY, down 0.1%. The small-cap Russell 2000 index .RUT hit a two-week high before paring gains, last up 1%.
U.S.-listed shares of Arm ARM.O jumped 21% after the company unveiled a new AI data center chip that is expected to bring billions of dollars in revenue.
Other chipmakers also moved higher with Intel INTC.O and Marvell Technology MRVL.O up 7% and 6%, respectively, while Nvidia NVDA.O rose 2.5%. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index .SOX added 1.1%.
Destiny Tech100 DXYZ.N surged nearly 13% after a report that SpaceX aims to file its IPO prospectus as soon as this week. SpaceX is the fund's largest equity holding.
Other space companies also rose, with Rocket Lab RKLB.O, and Intuitive Machines LUNR.O adding 10% and 16%, respectively. EchoStar SATS.O shares added 11.4%.
The oil price spike tied to the Iran conflict has revived inflation concerns, complicating the interest rate outlook of central banks.
Markets are not pricing in any easing from the Federal Reserve this year, compared with two cuts anticipated before the war broke out, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.
Among other movers, U.S.-listed shares of JD.com JD.O and Alibaba BABA.N gained 7% and 3% respectively after Chinese state media and the regulator urged the food delivery platform industry to end a bleeding price war.
Robinhood Markets HOOD.O added 6.4% after the trading platform announced a new $1.5 billion share buyback program.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.42-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.96-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and 23 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 54 new highs and 127 new lows.
