(Image credit: Getty Images)
A relief rally took hold of Wall Street on Wednesday as market participants cheered President Donald Trump’s announcement of a temporary ceasefire with Iran. Oil prices, meanwhile, plunged on the news, with crude futures suffering their biggest one-day decline since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ahead of Tuesday’s 8 pm Eastern Standard Time deadline, at which President Trump promised to end Iranian “civilization,” he announced a two-week ceasefire for the U.S. and Iran to finalize a peace agreement.
“The United States will work closely with Iran, which we have determined has gone through what will be a very productive Regime Change!,” Trump declared in a post on Truth Social. “We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran.”
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more – straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice – straight to your e-mail.
While the ceasefire is certainly welcome news for investors, Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com, reminds us that it “should be viewed as a pause in escalation rather than a resolution.”
She adds that “any signs that the ceasefire is breaking down, whether through renewed restrictions in the Strait or spillover from regional conflicts like Lebanon, could push oil prices higher again, strengthen the U.S. dollar and weigh on risk assets.”
Looking for more timely stock market news to help gauge the health of your portfolio? Sign up for Closing Bell, our free newsletter that’s delivered straight to your inbox at the close of each trading day.
Indeed, on Wednesday afternoon, Iran accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire, which temporarily took some steam out of the rally. Still, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 2.9% at 47,909, the broader S&P 500 finished 2.5% higher at 6,782, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 2.8% to 22,634.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude futures, on the other hand, plunged more than 16% to settle at $94.41 per barrel, its worst single-session decline since April 27, 2020. Still, oil prices remain 41% higher since late February.
Delta soars on Q1 earnings beat
Sinking energy prices boosted several travel stocks today, with cruise operator Carnival’s (CCL) 11.2% pop sending it to the top of the S&P 500.
United Airlines (UAL, +7.8%) and American Airlines Group (AAL, +5.6%) also gained solid ground, thanks in part to a first-quarter beat from fellow air carrier Delta Air Lines (DAL, +3.8%).
Delta also maintained its full-year forecast and gave upbeat second-quarter revenue guidance, though its expected Q2 earnings-per-share range of $1.00 to $1.50 comes in below the Street’s estimate of $1.41 per share at the midpoint.
“The company is benefiting from its diverse revenue streams (premium, loyalty, and cargo),” says Argus Research analyst John Staszak. “We expect demand for business and leisure travel to remain strong in 2026.”
Staszak, who has a Buy rating on the blue chip stock, lowered his full-year earnings-per-share estimate to $7.00 from $7.50 on expectations for higher fuel costs, but raised his price target to $85 from $80. DAL is already up 83% in the past 12 months, and this new price target suggests it has plenty of room to run.
Intel soars 11% on a new Tesla tie-up
Intel (INTC) was another notable gainer on Wednesday, with the tech stock soaring 11.4% on news the chipmaker has signed onto Elon Musk‘s Terafab project.
On Tuesday, INTC posted on X that it will join Musk’s $20 billion joint venture between xAI, SpaceX and Tesla (TSLA, -1.0%). Intel will “design, fabricate, and package ultra-high-performance chips at scale” to help the initiative reach its goal of producing 1 terawatt (TW) of computing power “for future advances in AI and robotics.”
Musk first mentioned Terafab on Tesla’s earnings call in January, saying the initiative is important to guard against geopolitical risk. “I think if we don’t do the Tesla Terafab, we’re going to be limited by supplier output of chips,” he explained. “And I think maybe memory is an even bigger limiter than AI logic.”
As for Intel, it was one of the hottest S&P 500 stocks of 2025 and it’s continued to soar in 2026. With today’s gains, shares are now up 60% for the year to date.