WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After ending Tuesday's choppy session mostly lower, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside in early trading on Wednesday. The major averages gave back ground over the course of the trading day but managed to remain in positive territory.
The Nasdaq advanced 167.93 points or 0.8 percent to 21,929.83, the Dow climbed 305.43 points or 0.7 percent to 46,429.49 and the S&P 500 rose 35.53 points or 0.5 percent to 6,591.90.
The early strength on Wall Street came amid a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil, with international benchmark Brent crude futures slumping by 1.7 percent after surging in the previous session.
Crude oil prices gave 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 was 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
Biotechnology stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 3.5 percent
A sharp increase by the price of gold also contributed to significant strength among gold stocks, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surging by 3 percent.
Airline, computer hardware and pharmaceutical stocks also saw considerable 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 also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index shot up by 1.3 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both leapt by 1.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries 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, slumped 6.4 basis points to 4.328 percent.
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