Stocks Rise, Oil Prices Ease Wednesday 03/25 15:25

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Hopes for a possible end to the war with Iran pushed stocks 
higher on Wall Street Wednesday, while oil prices eased.

   The S&P 500 rose 0.5% in its latest flip - flop after the United States 
delivered a plan to pause the war to Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average 
added 305 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.8%.

   But the moves were shaky, and the S&P 500 briefly came close to erasing all 
of its jump, which maxed out at 1.2% during the morning. Financial markets have 
swung sharply since the war began more than three weeks ago, and many of the 
reversals have struck hour to hour as uncertainty continues to dominate about 
how long the war will last.

   Keeping up that uncertainty on Wednesday: Iran's foreign minister, Abbas 
Araghchi, said in an interview with Iranian state TV that his government has 
not engaged in talks to end the war, "and we do not plan on any negotiations."

   Iran also launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, including 
an assault that sparked a huge fire at Kuwait International Airport, while 
coming under attack itself. The U.S. military deployed paratroopers and more 
Marines to the region.

   Optimism, though, was nevertheless evident in financial markets worldwide. 
Stock indexes climbed more than 1% in London, Paris and Shanghai. Tokyo's 
Nikkei 225 leaped 2.9%.

   The price for a barrel of Brent crude delivered in June fell 3% to settle at 
$97.26. Hopes rose that a cooldown in fighting could allow oil and natural gas 
to flow more freely from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. Many oil 
tankers are currently stuck outside the Strait of Hormuz off Iran's coast, and 
the blockage has sent Brent crude's price to nearly $120 per barrel at times.

   In the bond market, Treasury yields also eased. That could help soften the 
rise in rates for mortgages and other kinds of borrowing since the beginning of 
the war. That in turn could lessen the pressure on the economy.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.32% from 4.39% late Tuesday, 
though it remains well above its 3.97% level from just before the war.

   Even gold, which has been one of the investment world's worst losers through 
the war, rose. It climbed 3.4% to settle at $4,552.30 per ounce.

   Gold's price had briefly gotten near $5,400 early this month. That was 
before Treasury yields rushed higher on worries that high oil prices would 
drive inflation upward and prevent the Federal Reserve from cutting interest 
rates. When bonds are paying more in interest, they make gold, which pays its 
investors nothing, less attractive in comparison.

   On Wall Street, Arm Holdings soared 16.4% after the U.K. company announced a 
suite of chips for data centers and artificial-intelligence technology.

   Robinhood Markets rallied 5% to help lead U.S. stocks after its board 
authorized a program to send up to $1.5 billion to shareholders by buying back 
the company's stock.

   Terns Pharmaceuticals rose 5.7% after Merck said it would buy the oncology 
company in an all-cash deal valuing it at $6.7 billion. Merck rose 2.6%.

   On the losing end of Wall Street was On Holding. The Swiss company that 
sells On shoes slumped 11.2% after saying its chief executive officer, Martin 
Hoffmann, is stepping down.

   In Hong Kong, Pop Mart International Group tumbled 22.5% after the company 
behind the popular Labubu dolls reported explosive growth in profit and 
revenue, but not enough to meet analysts' expectations.

   The stock prices for the parent companies of YouTube and Instagram held 
relatively steady after a jury found them liable in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit 
that aimed to hold social media platforms responsible for harm to children 
using their services. Alphabet added 0.2%, and Meta Platforms rose 0.3%.

   All told, the S&P 500 rose 35.53 points to 6,591.90. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average gained 305.43 to 46,429.49, and the Nasdaq composite limbed 
167.93 to 21,929.83.