WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving sharply higher early in the session, stocks saw further upside over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages all showed strong upward moves, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way higher.
The major averages ended the day not far off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq soared 795.99 points or 3.8 percent to 21,590.62, the S&P 500 spiked 184.80 points or 2.9 percent to 6,528.52 and the Dow surged 1,125.37 points or 2.5 percent to 46,341.51.
Despite the rally on the day, the major averages all posted steep losses for the month of March. The Dow plummeted by 5.4 percent, the S&P 500 plunged by 5.1 percent and the Nasdaq tumbled by 4.8 percent.
The rally on Wall Street came following reports President Donald Trump is looking to end the war in the Middle East.
A report from the Wall Street Journal said Trump told aides he's willing to end the U.S. military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.
Citing administration officials, the WSJ said Trump and his aides assessed that a mission to pry open the Strait of Hormuz would push the conflict beyond his timeline of four to six weeks.
The officials told the Journal that Trump would continue to pressure Tehran diplomatically to resume the free flow of trade through the strait, failing which he would pressure allies to take the lead.
Stocks saw further upside in afternoon trading as Trump seemed to confirm elements of the Journal's report in an interview the New York Post, telling the newspaper the U.S. would not be in the region 'too much longer.'
In the interview with the Post, Trump also indicated he expects other countries to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying, 'Let the countries that are using the strait, let them go and open it. because I would imagine whoever's controlling the oil will be very happy to open the strait.'
The price of crude oil turned lower in reaction to the Post report, generating optimism that the end of the war will lead to a pullback by oil prices and ease inflation concerns.
Bargain hunting also contributed to the strength on Wall Street, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 bouncing off their lowest closing levels in almost eight months.
Sector News
Gold stocks moved sharply higher along with the price of the precious metal, resulting in a 7.2 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
Substantial strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging by 6.2 percent after ending Monday's session at a three-month closing low.
Airline stocks also showed a significant move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 5.4 percent.
Computer hardware, biotechnology and networking stocks also saw considerable strength, while energy stocks came under pressure over the course of the session.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.6 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both rose by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries extended the strong upward move seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell 3.1 basis points to 4.311 percent.
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