[New York Stocks] All Three Major Indexes Rise on Hopes for Short Iran Conflict and Strong Employment Data

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On the 4th (local time), for the first time in five days since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, all three major US stock indexes managed to rebound. The market appears to have been driven by hopes that the Iran war will not be prolonged and by solid employment data.

As of 10:20 a.m. at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 238.82 points (+0.49%) from the previous trading day at 48,740.09. The large-cap-focused S&P 500 index rose 44.59 points (+0.65%) to 6,861.22, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index climbed 275.03 points (+1.22%) to 22,791.72.

The rebound in US stocks appears to have been influenced by a New York Times (NYT) report that Iranian intelligence officials indirectly contacted the CIA and proposed terms for ending the war. However, Iran strongly denied rumors of back-channel negotiations with the US, calling them “information warfare.”

Additionally, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth held a briefing expressing confidence that the US and Israel had reached a point where they could completely dominate Iranian airspace, which further boosted investor sentiment.

For the first time since the Iranian airstrikes, airline stocks showed an upward trend. Delta was up 0.45%, American Airlines rose 1.57%, and United Airlines gained 1.18%.

Solid private-sector employment also contributed to the stock price gains. On this day, ADP announced that private sector jobs increased by 63,000 in February compared to the previous month. This is the largest increase since July of last year and exceeds the Dow Jones expert consensus estimate of 48,000 jobs.

Nela Richardson, Chief Economist at ADP, explained, "Along with the increase in employment, wage growth for workers who remain in their current jobs continues," adding, "Since job growth is concentrated in a few sectors, the wage increase effect from job-hopping has not yet become widespread."

As US employment indicators showed signs of stable moderation, buying momentum also emerged in technology stocks. Nvidia rose 0.93%, Microsoft (MS) gained 0.55%, Amazon climbed 3.32%, and Meta was up 2.04%.

The team led by Peter Oppenheimer at Goldman Sachs stated in a report that, although "risk assets are facing significant headwinds due to the Iran war and artificial intelligence (AI), the fundamental economic resilience and robust earnings growth will likely keep declines limited."

International oil prices also halted their upward trend. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil fell 0.5% to $74.19 per barrel. James McCann, Chief Economist at Edward Jones, analyzed in a report, "Some opportunities may begin to emerge in the market for long-term investors," adding, "If energy prices stabilize and moderate over the next few days or weeks, this will become even more likely."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.