S&P 500 Bounces Back; Dow Largely Sits This One Out
Key Points
President Trump signed an interim peace deal with Iran, temporarily reopening the Strait of Hormuz and sending oil prices lower.
Intel jumped 10.4% as Trump also announced an Apple partnership on social media, though neither company has confirmed the deal yet.
SpaceX fell 9.9%, erasing Tuesday's gains and dragging down the Nasdaq Composite relative to the Nasdaq-100.
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What a difference 24 hours makes. After Wednesday's hawkish Fed surprise sent stocks tumbling, Thursday brought a tech-powered bounce.
The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) rose 1%, rebounding from Wednesday's 1.2% decline. The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) rose 1.5% on bullish semiconductor news. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) lagged significantly, gaining just 0.4% as of 12:38 p.m. ET.
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Tech is back in charge, just before the long Juneteenth holiday weekend.
^IXIC data by YCharts
Why tech stocks are having a field day
Thursday delivered a one-two punch of market-moving news. First, President Trump signed an interim peace deal with Iran at the Palace of Versailles, reopening the Strait of Hormuz for commercial traffic over the next 60 days. Vice President JD Vance reported that 12.5 million barrels of oil had already passed safely through the strait overnight. The United States Oil Fund (NYSEMKT: USO) fell 2.1% on expectations of increased global supply.
Then came the semiconductor surprise. Back from his Iranian agreement, Trump posted on social media that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) would team up to build chips in America. Neither company has actually confirmed this yet, but the Truth Social post still moved American chip stocks. Intel rocketed 10.4% higher, Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) jumped 7.9%, and Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) tacked on 3.9%.
Image source: Intel.
Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) declined 9.9%, erasing Tuesday's gains and ending the recent market entrant's bullish momentum. The stock's decline weighed on the Nasdaq Composite index, which rose 1.5% compared to the Nasdaq-100's 2.4% gain. SpaceX is included in the broader Composite index but not the Nasdaq-100.
On the Dow, Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) contributed 192 points with a 3.3% gain, while IBM (NYSE: IBM) subtracted 81 points after falling 5%. Caterpillar benefits from stabilizing macroeconomic conditions, while IBM's stock followed tech consulting peer Accenture (NYSE: ACN) lower.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) fell 2.4%. Crypto investors don't seem impressed by Thursday's risk-on mood.
Zooming out from the noise
Wednesday belonged to Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, whose hawkish tone delivered the worst "Fed day" for a new chair since 1994. Thursday belongs to geopolitics and semiconductor dreams. The market's mood can shift fast.
The Iran deal comes with caveats. Sanctions are waived, not lifted. The 60-day window for a final agreement starts now. Iran has hinted that it will charge tolls for Strait passage once the grace period ends. And Israel has already rejected provisions about Lebanon. Stay tuned for more geopolitical drama.
As for the Intel-Apple partnership, it remains a social media announcement without corporate confirmation. Investors may want to wait for official statements before drawing conclusions about the deal's scope or timeline.
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Anders Bylund has positions in Bitcoin, Intel, International Business Machines, and Micron Technology. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Accenture, Apple, Bitcoin, Broadcom, Caterpillar, Intel, International Business Machines, and Micron Technology. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2028 $260 calls on Accenture and short January 2028 $280 calls on Accenture. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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