By Purvi Agarwal and Avinash P
April 8 (Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes were set for a strong open on Wednesday after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, sending crude prices lower on expectations that energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz could resume.
The announcement came hours before U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that typically handles about one-fifth of global oil trade.
Trump said on Wednesday that the U.S. will work closely with Iran and will be talking about tariffs and sanctions relief with Tehran.
The ceasefire brought immediate relief to global markets that has been reeling under conflicting signals from both sides. Equity indexes in the Asian and European markets climbed between 4% and 5%, while crude prices slid over 14% to below $100 a barrel.
“Whether these early ‘risk-on’ moves are sustainable or not is another matter… If shipping starts to move through the Strait of Hormuz again, and there’s strong evidence that things can return to pre-war normality, that will embolden investors,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.
“But given the complexity of the issues around this, a two-week ceasefire is unlikely to be sufficient to convince investors that it’s safe to go back in the water.”
At 08:11 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 1,254 points, or 2.68%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 182 points, or 2.73% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 860.75 points, or 3.53%.
Futures tracking the rate-sensitive Russell 2000 Index jumped 3.9%, while the CBOE Volatility Index slumped 5.48 points to 20.31, its lowest point since February 27.
U.S. energy stocks tumbled in premarket trading, tracking global oil prices. Shares of Exxon Mobil shed 6%, Chevron dropped 4.8%, and Occidental Petroleum lost 8.3%.
Stocks linked to travel and leisure sectors edged higher. Shares of American Airlines and United Airlines jumped 12% and 13.6%, respectively, while cruise operators Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line added 10.2% and 8.2%, respectively.
Delta Airlines also advanced 13%, in line with peers, even as it forecast lower-than-expected profit for the second quarter. It did not update its annual outlook, due to uncertainty over fuel prices linked to the Iran war.
Concerns lingered that soaring energy costs could weigh on economic growth and complicate the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy trajectory.
Interest-rate futures show investors see a 56% chance of a 25-basis-point cut by the end of 2026, according to LSEG-compiled data, compared to expectations of no easing this year, a day ago.
Before the war erupted, traders were betting on at least two 25-basis-point interest rate cuts this year.
Later in the day, investors will parse comments from Fed policymakers Mary Daly and Christopher Waller, and minutes from the central bank’s March 17-18 meeting.
Markets will also be looking forward to analyzing the local inflation readings later in the week for signs of whether the elevated crude prices during the war have added to price pressures.
Levi Strauss gained 11.4% in premarket trading after the denim apparel maker raised its annual sales and profit forecasts.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian, Purvi Agarwal and Avinash P in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Shinjini Ganguli)
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