WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving sharply higher at the start of trading, stocks have given back some ground over the course of Wednesday's session but continued to turn in a strong performance. The major averages have all moved to the upside after ending the previous session in the red.
Currently, the major averages are off their highs of the session but still firmly positive. The Nasdaq is up 303.41 points or 1.4 percent at 22,065.31, the S&P 500 is up 59.97 points or 0.9 percent at 6,616.34 and the Dow is up 385.60 points or 0.8 percent at 46,509.66.
The strength on Wall Street comes amid a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil, with international benchmark Brent crude futures plunging by nearly 4 percent after surging in the previous session.
Crude oil prices are giving back ground after a report from the New York Times said the U.S. has sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war in the Middle East.
Citing two officials briefed on the diplomacy, the New York Times said the plan, delivered by way of Pakistan, said it addresses Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
The New York Times acknowledged it is unclear whether Iran was likely to accept the plan as a basis for negotiations but argued the delivery of the plan showed the administration is ramping up efforts to conclude the war.
As diplomatic efforts gather pace, Iran has told the United Nations Security Council and the International Maritime Organization that 'non-hostile vessels' may transit the Strait of Hormuz with Tehran's consent.
However, buying interest has been partly offset by a report from Iran's state-linked media Fars News Agency claiming Iran will not accept the ceasefire offer from the U.S.
'Iran does not accept the ceasefire,' an informed source told FARS, according to a translation of the news site's Telegram page. 'Basically, it is not logical to enter into such a process with the violators of the agreement.'
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing U.S. import prices increased by much more than expected in the month of February.
The Labor Department said import prices jumped by 1.3 percent in February after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.6 percent in January.
Economists had expected import prices to rise by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.2 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.
The report said export prices also surged by 1.5 percent in February following an unrevised 0.6 percent increase in January. Export prices were expected to grow by 0.5 percent.
Sector News
Gold stocks are surging along with the price of the precious metal, resulting in a 4 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
Substantial strength is also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 3.2 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.
Airline, computer hardware and networking stocks are also seeing significant strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved notably higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged by 2.9 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.3 percent.
The major European markets have also shown strong moves to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 1.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 1.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved sharply higher following the notable pullback seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 6.0 basis points at 4.332 percent.
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