The DOW JONES index rises 0.79% to 46,709.63 points. The increases are led by Boeing (+2.65%) and Caterpillar (+2.4%), while on the negative side Nike plummeted 12.5%.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.59% to 6,566.85 points, while the Nasdaq rose 0.74% to 21,751.01 points.
Wall Street has just recorded its best day since May of last year yesterday: The Dow Jones added 2.49% to 46,341.51 points, while the S&P 500 gained 2.91% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 3.83%. However, this growth spurt was not nearly enough to save a very complicated month of March: In March as a whole, the S&P fell 5.1%, the Nasdaq lost 4.75% and the Dow Jones lost 5.4%.
Investor sentiment appears to be improving amid hopes that the Iran war will end soon. Late Tuesday, US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he expected US military forces to leave the region in “two or three weeks.”
It joined unconfirmed information indicating that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was willing to end the war with guarantees. Earlier this month, he made similar statements, stating in an
The Wall Street Journal It further reported that Trump had told his advisers that he was willing to end the war even if the Strait of Hormuz remained largely closed for the time being. Washington has hinted in recent hours that there is the possibility of both engaging in direct talks with Tehran’s leaders and of the conflict subsiding, even without reaching an agreement.
Today the White House announced that Trump will deliver a speech to the nation on Wednesday at 9 pm Washington time, to report on the situation of the war in Iran. While waiting for what he says then, the president has once again used Truth Social to ensure that Iran has asked for a ceasefire. “The new president of the Iranian regime, much less radicalized and much more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States for a CEASE FIRE. We will consider it when the Strait of Hormuz is open, free and clear. Until then, we are going to blow Iran up to annihilation or, as they say, back to the Stone Age!”
All this news helps to relax oil prices, which have been the best gauge to measure investor nerves in recent weeks. US West Texas futures fell 1.33% to $100.03 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude fell 2.15% to $101.673.
But we must remember that Brent has just recorded a monthly rise of 64% in March, the steepest in history according to LSEG data, dating back to June 1988. The May contract touched $118.35 per barrel yesterday, recording its highest close since June 16, 2022.
On the macroeconomic agenda, investors have learned the ADP private sector employment report for March, which shows 62,000 new hires, well above the 40,000 that the market had anticipated. Wage growth for those who kept their jobs held steady at 4.5%, while those who changed jobs saw an increase of 6.6%, up 0.3 percentage points from February.
This report comes two days before the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its long-awaited nonfarm payrolls report on Friday (the day markets will be closed). Wall Street’s forecast calls for an increase of 59,000 jobs after the loss of 92,000 recorded in February. The unemployment rate is expected to remain stable at 4.4%.
They have also met retail sales, which rose 0.6% in Februarycompared to the 0.1% drop in the previous month. This day’s references will be completed by the ISM manufacturing for March.
Nike collapses after presenting results
On a business level, Nike shares plummeted 12.5% in the New York morning after the footwear and sportswear giant presented its quarterly results at closing yesterday. Future forecasts weigh above all on sentiment: CFO Matt Friend stated that Nike expects sales for its fourth fiscal quarter (the current one) to fall between 2% and 4%, compared to Wall Street estimates of an increase of 1.9%.
The company’s net income for the quarter ended Feb. 28 was $520 million, or 35 cents per share. This represents a 35% decrease from $794 million in the same period last year, although it exceeds analysts’ estimate of 28 cents per share. Sales were flat at $11.28 billion, down from $11.27 billion a year earlier. Analysts had predicted 11,240 million.
PVH, the company behind brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, is moving up after announcing adjusted earnings of $3.82 per share and revenue of $2.51 billion in the fourth quarter. Analysts had expected earnings of $3.31 per share and revenue of $2.43 billion.
RH plummets more than 20% on Wall Street. The furniture company announced yesterday after the closing that expects annual revenue growth of between 4% and 8%, lower than the market estimate of 8.8%. Fourth-quarter adjusted earnings came in at $1.53 per share and revenue hit $843 million. The market consensus had forecast earnings of $2.22 per share and revenue of $873 million.
The company’s guidance for the first quarter of 2026 was also disappointing, with an expected revenue decline of between 2% and 4% and an adjusted EBITDA margin of between 5.5% and 6.5%.
In analyst recommendations, good news for Walt Disney. The entertainment giant sees how Raymond James upgrades its advice from ‘in line with market performance’ to ‘overweight’. While macroeconomic headwinds could impact Disney’s prospects, the firm believes current levels make the current valuation attractive to invest in the company.