LIVE MARKETS-US stocks rise on hopes for Iran de-escalation, but best gains prove hard to hold

Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com

US STOCKS RISE ON HOPES FOR IRAN DE-ESCALATION, BUT BEST GAINS PROVE HARD TO HOLD

Wall Street's main indexes rose on Wednesday as oil prices dropped, with talks between the U.S. and Iran feeding investor hopes for a de-escalation in the fourth week of a war that has exacerbated inflation concerns.

Iran initially said it considered U.S. proposals delivered by Pakistan as excessive and demanded sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. On Wednesday, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran was still reviewing the proposal to end the war.

Despite opening strength, some caution quickly set in. The S&P rose as much as 1.2% shortly after the open, the Dow .DJI rallied 1.3%, and the Nasdaq .IXIC advanced 1.5%. However, session highs were hit within the first 10 minutes, gains were pared, and a choppy range took hold.

The Nasdaq finished up 0.77%, the Dow rose 0.66% and the S&P 500 added 0.54%.

In any event, most S&P 500 sectors rose on the day, with Materials .SPLRCM, up nearly 2%, posting the biggest gain. Just Real Estate .SPLRCR, off 0.04%, and Energy .SPNY, down 0.53%, finished lower.

NYMEX Crude Futures CLc1 are down more than 1%.

Under the surface, chips .SOX, small caps .RUT, gold/silver miners .XAU and biotech .NBI were among the outperformers, with all posting gains of more than 1%. In fact, the NBI, with a 2.64% jump, scored its biggest daily gain since early February.

Software & Services .SPLRCIS lost 0.48%, and remains on the back foot. The index is now down about 31% from its late-October 2025 record close, and with this, it's testing its late-February lows. (Those lows were just marginally above its April 2025 trough.)

Here is a snapshot of where markets stood shortly after 4 p.m. EDT.

(Terence Gabriel)

EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:

TECH SCORES RECORD INFLOWS AS CLIENTS DUMP MOST OTHER SECTORS, BOFA SAYS CLICK HERE

FOREIGN CENTRAL BANKS QUIETLY SELLING TREASURIES? CLICK HERE

MILESTONE MANIA: IMPORT PRICES, MORTGAGE DEMAND, CURRENT ACCOUNT CLICK HERE

BOFA SAYS YOUNGER CONSUMERS ARE SPENDING MORE BUT HIGHER GAS PRICES COULD BITE CLICK HERE

WALL STREET GAINS ON OPTIMISM ABOUT IRAN CONFLICT CLICK HERE

RETAIL INVESTORS STEP BACK AS MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS RATTLE MARKETS CLICK HERE

BULLS AWAIT BREADTH THRUST AS A NASDAQ INTERNAL STRENGTH GAUGE CONTINUES TO SLIDE CLICK HERE

OIL JUST RIGHT FOR FED HAWKISHNESS CLICK HERE

TRUMP PAIN INDEX HITS HIGH-ALERT LEVEL CLICK HERE

EUROPEAN SHARES SHOW CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM CLICK HERE

EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: FUTURES HIGHER, BUT NO ONE KNOWS WHAT TO THINK CLICK HERE

MORNING BID EUROPE: DEAL, OR NO DEAL? CLICK HERE