Wall Street stocks surged to fresh records on Thursday, buoyed by optimistic signals from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding potential peace negotiations with Iran, even as oil prices climbed sharply.
All three major U.S. indices closed higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each gaining 0.4% to set new all-time highs. The market's resilience came despite a nearly 5% spike in Brent crude futures, which topped $99 per barrel amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
Analysts pointed to Trump's comments as a key driver. "We had to make sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon," the president stated. "They've totally agreed to that. They've agreed to almost everything, so maybe if they can get to the table, there's a difference."
"By all accounts, the market expects a good outcome here," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare, noting that while nothing concrete has been finalized, the tone from Washington appears constructive.
The optimism follows weeks of volatility since a U.S.-Israel siege in late February, which led Iran to block most tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz—a critical waterway for approximately one-fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas.
However, not all rhetoric was conciliatory. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned earlier Thursday, "If Iran chooses poorly, then they will have a blockade and bombs dropping on infrastructure, power and energy."
Energy market expert Stephen Schork of the Schork Group attributed oil's swings to the conflicting messages. "We don't know how this ends or how quickly it ends," he remarked.
Globally, European markets ended mostly higher, with London and Frankfurt gaining nearly 0.5%, while Paris dipped slightly. Tokyo's stock market also reached a record high, extending a rally fueled by strong U.S. corporate earnings despite inflationary pressures.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, observed, "Global stock markets have staged one of the fastest recoveries in recent memory," even as elevated oil prices keep traders alert to developments in the U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks.