WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, regaining ground after trending lower over the past few sessions. The major averages all showed strong moves to the upside on the day.
The major averages ended the day just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq surged 399.65 points or 1.5 percent to 26,270.36, the Dow shot up 645.47 points or 1.3 percent to 50,009.35 and the S&P 500 jumped 79.36 points or 1.1 percent to 7,432.97.
The rally on Wall Street came a steep drop by treasuries yields, which pulled back sharply along with the price of crude oil.
The yield on the benchmark ten-year note plunged from its highest levels in well over a year as U.S. crude oil futures plummeted by more than 5 percent amid renewed optimism about an end to the U.S.-Iran war.
Crude oil futures tumbled below $100 a barrel after President Donald Trump claimed the U.S. conflict with Iran is in the 'final stages.'
At the same time, Trump continued to leave open the possibility of renewing military attacks against Iran, telling reporters, 'We'll either have a deal or we're going to do some things that are a little bit nasty.'
Optimism about earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA) may also have generated buying interest, with the chipmaker due to report its first quarter results after the close of trading.
With Nvidia seen as a leader in the artificial intelligence space, the company's results and guidance could have a significant impact on the outlook for the markets.
Sector News
Airline stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day amid the steep drop by crude oil prices, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 8.1 percent.
Substantial strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 4.5 percent spike by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Housing stocks also showed a significant move to the upside, resulting in a 3.8 percent surge by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.
Gold, banking and computer hardware stocks also saw considerable strength, while oil producer stocks moved sharply lower along with the price of crude oil.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index decreased by 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index surged by 1.7 percent, the German DAX Index shot up by 1.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries saw a substantial rebound after moving sharply lower over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, plunged 9.5 basis points to 4.572 percent.
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