[New York Stock Market] Israel-Hezbollah Talks Spur Rebound in Major Indices

International Oil Prices Also Close with Narrowed Gains

On April 9 (local time), the three major U.S. stock indices closed with modest gains. This appears to reflect expectations that the ceasefire will continue, following news of talks between the governments of Israel and Lebanon.

According to the home trading system (HTS) that day, on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow Jones) ended at 48,185.80, up 275.88 points (0.58%) from the previous trading day. The S&P 500 index, centered on large-cap stocks, rose 41.85 points (0.62%) to finish at 6,824.66, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq index gained 187.422 points (0.83%) to close at 22,822.417.

Both the New York stock market and international oil prices showed significant volatility. Early in the session, reports that Iran would limit the number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to 15 per day dampened investor sentiment, causing the three major indices to fall. The previous day, Israel attacked Hezbollah inside Lebanon, leading Iran to publicly object, which fueled concerns that the two-week ceasefire would not last.

However, in the latter part of the session, news that the governments of Israel and Lebanon had decided to hold talks helped the three major indices to rebound. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would directly negotiate with the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian militant faction. After U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu and requested that Israel scale back its attacks on Lebanon and pursue negotiations with the Lebanese government, Netanyahu stepped back from further escalation.

As a result, international oil prices also gave back some earlier gains. At the start of trading, following news of Iran's restriction on passage through the Strait of Hormuz, May delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange briefly traded above $100 per barrel.

However, after news of talks between the Israeli and Lebanese governments, WTI settled at $97.87 per barrel, up 3.66% from the previous session. June delivery Brent crude on the ICE Futures Exchange also finished at $95.92 per barrel, up 1.23% from the previous session.

Rick Waddell, Chief Investment Officer at RFG Advisory, commented, "The very existence of a ceasefire and the fact that both sides agree to it instills confidence in investors that this situation will be resolved in the long term." He added, "The longer the strait remains closed, the harder it becomes to reopen everything, and such a supply shock will last longer."

Meanwhile, refining and defense stocks mostly closed lower. ExxonMobil fell 1.36%, Chevron dropped 1.83%, Lockheed Martin declined 0.72%, AeroVironment slid 4.56%, and Northrop Grumman was down 0.21%.

Most large-cap stocks showed modest gains. Nvidia rose 0.88%, Apple 0.51%, Amazon 5.45%, Alphabet 0.32%, and Meta climbed 2.74%.

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