Stocks rallied sharply on Tuesday as hopes for a potential end to the war in the Middle East lifted investor sentiment. The Nasdaq surged 3.8% to close at 21,591, adding 796 points, while the Dow Jones jumped 2.5% to 46,342, up 1,125 points. The S&P 500 rose 2.9% to 6,529, and the Russell 2000 climbed 3.4% to 2,496.

The gains came after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian indicated that the regime may be open to negotiations aimed at ending the conflict that has roiled the global energy market. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump reportedly told administration officials he would support ending the war without a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and predicted the conflict “won’t last much longer.”

The positive developments helped reverse a rough quarter for U.S. markets. The S&P 500 had posted its worst quarter since 2025, and the Dow its weakest three-month stretch since 2022. Oil prices reacted sharply to the news, with Brent crude falling 2.8% to around $104 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate dropping 1% to roughly $102.

Investors are now looking ahead to a busy earnings session after the bell, with Nike, RH, and Beyond Meat set to report results that could shape market direction in the days to come.

American Resources partnered with Mitsubishi Materials and ReElement to strengthen U.S.-Japan rare earth and critical mineral supply chains, including a strategic investment in ReElement.

Immunic added biotech veteran Jon Congleton to its board as it advances its late-stage multiple sclerosis program.

BioHarvest Sciences completed the first stage of a multi-phase development program for a rare fragrance plant via its CDMO division.

MustGrow will close its Canadian NexusBioAg unit to focus capital on its proprietary TerraSante biofertility product in the U.S.

First Phosphate completed an expanded 40,000-metre drilling program at its Bégin-Lamarche property, confirming continuous phosphate mineralization and new zones.

Nextech3D.AI CEO Evan Gappelberg acquired an additional 500,000 common shares through open market purchases.

Replenish Nutrients closed the final tranche of a private placement, raising C$4.8 million and settling part of its outstanding debt.

Shake Shack was upgraded to Neutral by Jefferies, which sees its marketing, menu innovation, and cost controls supporting growth despite macro headwinds.

Amazon and Delta Air Lines struck a multi-year deal to roll out Amazon’s low-Earth-orbit satellite internet across Delta’s fleet starting in 2028.

Biogen agreed to acquire Apellis Pharmaceuticals for about $5.6 billion upfront, with additional payments tied to SYFOVRE sales milestones.

CoreWeave secured an $8.5 billion loan facility backed by GPU infrastructure, boosting investor confidence in its AI cloud platform.

Eli Lilly will acquire Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a deal worth up to $7.8 billion to expand its neuroscience pipeline.

Nvidia is investing $2 billion in Marvell Technology to deepen a strategic partnership focused on scaling AI infrastructure.

Unilever will combine its food business with McCormick in a $44.8 billion deal to create a global food portfolio generating about $20 billion in revenue.

Progress Software raised its full-year outlook after first-quarter results beat expectations, driven by strong demand for AI products.

American Resources announced a strategic partnership involving ReElement and Mitsubishi Materials to strengthen U.S.-Japan rare earth supply chains.

Immunic appointed biotech veteran Jon Congleton to its board as it advances its multiple sclerosis pipeline.

Renewed hopes for a Middle East ceasefire, along with month-end positioning, helped equities rebound from multi-month lows as yields pulled back, noted IG's Axel Rudolph.

"China's manufacturing expanding at the fastest pace in a year, quarter-end index adjustments and falling yields amid hopes of a Middle East ceasefire helped the three main US stock indices rally from their 7-month lows," Rudolph commented.

Wall Street surged even higher in the afternoon, with the Nasdaq up nearly 3.5% on the day.

US job openings and quits rates fell in February, signaling a cooling labor market amid inflation pressures and tariff uncertainties, according to the latest JOLTS report.

Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, said the overall decline reflects worker uncertainty. “Across most industries, the quits rate is below pre-pandemic levels, indicating workers’ hesitation to change jobs," Roach commented.

Hiring rates also weakened, particularly in health care services, a key driver of recent payroll growth, suggesting potential softness in Friday’s nonfarm payroll report for the sector.

In contrast, the information technology sector saw both hiring and quits rates rise, supported by strong product demand. Roach noted that IT labor demand “has bucked the trend” seen across other sectors.

US consumer confidence rose more than expected in March, reaching 91.8, compared with analyst estimates of 87.9.

Meanwhile, February job openings came in slightly below expectations at 6.882 million, versus the forecast of 6.89 million.

This suggests stronger household sentiment amid a slightly softer labor demand backdrop.

Wall Street has opened firmly higher, led by tech today, which was at the forefront of yesterday's selling.

The Nasdaq is leading the gains, up 2.1%, with the S&P 500 rising 1.7% and the Dow Jones up 1.4%.

Semiconductor and hardware names are dominating the risers, with Marvell Technology up 8.2%, while ARM Holdings gains 4.6% and Lam Research 3.4%.

Among the mega-giants, Meta Platforms added 3.3%, Tesla 2.3% and Microsoft 1.7%, with storage and chip groups including Seagate, Western Digital and NXP also among the top performers.

Elsewhere, strength was broad across the sector, with ASML, Broadcom and Intel all posting solid gains, as investors rotated back again.

Donald Trump has been posting again. This time, he is lashing out at European allies.

"All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you," the US President posted.

"Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT. You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us.

"Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!"

France also gets it in the neck after refusing to let US military aircraft use its airspace, as Spain has done recently.

US stocks were set for a strong open on Tuesday as easing geopolitical tensions lifted sentiment.

Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures were up more than 1% and the Nasdaq was set to open 0.9% higher.

Markets are rebounding after a mixed previous session, when chip stocks dragged the Nasdaq down 0.7% and the S&P 500 fell 0.4%, while the Dow edged 0.1% higher.

The improvement comes as investors take comfort from signs of de-escalation in the Middle East, with oil prices easing back to just under $103 a barrel.

President Trump was said to have told aides he would be willing to end the war on Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, according to a Wall Street Journal report overnight.

The White House said the "full reopening of the Strait is something the administration is working towards", but was not one of the "core objectives" of the military operation.

Analysts said an end the conflict with Iran was helping to unwind some of the “war premium” in global markets.

Still, market analyst Kenny Polcari at Slatestone noted that the VIX volatility index was essentially unchanged yesterday, closing at 30.6.

"That in itself tells us something important. A VIX above 30 signals a market that is clearly on edge – investors are nervous and protection is expensive – but the fact that it did not surge higher despite the continued geopolitical headlines and the spike in oil prices suggests that much of the fear is already priced in.

"In other words, volatility is elevated, but it is not accelerating, which tells us the market may be in the process of absorbing the shock rather than entering a new phase of panic selling and that is a key observation, one that we will keep our eyes on over the coming weeks."