By Caroline Valetkevitch and Stefano Rebaudo
NEW YORK/MILAN, May 22 (Reuters) – Major stock indexes rose and Treasury yields fell on Friday as investors weighed the likelihood of a near-term deal to end the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran.
Oil prices rose as uncertainty over talks with Iran persisted.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States has seen some progress toward an “Iran deal, but more work is required.” Diplomatic efforts have intensified to find an end to a conflict that began in late February.
Iran’s Foreign Minister met Pakistan’s Interior Minister on Friday to discuss proposals to end the war between the United States and Israel, Iranian media reported.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones hit an all-time high for the first time since the war with Iran began, and the S&P 500 was on track to post its eighth consecutive weekly gain. Stocks have been buoyed by booming demand for AI-related stocks, even as concerns persist about the economic fallout from the war.
While gaps between Iran and the United States have narrowed, there are still sticking points over Iran’s enriched uranium and control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Investors are concerned that the current energy shocks will filter through to underlying consumer prices, which could force a tighter monetary policy response.
“There’s a lot of waiting around on geopolitical issues. That’s keeping some people on the sidelines, but overall the market believes that everything will be resolved eventually,” said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York.
“Towards the end of the day, you could see some selling pressure” ahead of the long weekend in the United States, he said. U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed on Monday in observance of Memorial Day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 369.12 points, or 0.73%, to 50,654.78, the S&P 500 rose 43.59 points, or 0.58%, to 7,489.09 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 164.55 points, or 0.63%, to 50,654.78. 26,457.65.
MSCI’s gauge of global stocks rose 7.21 points, or 0.65%, to 1,114.10. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.8%.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield last fell 3.4 basis points (bps) to 4.552%. A sell-off earlier in the week led yields to hit monthly or yearly highs, with the 10-year yield hitting its highest level since January 2025 on Tuesday.
Türkiye’s financial markets have recovered after being rocked this week by political measures against the country’s main opposition party. The benchmark BIST 100 index rose 4.5% in Istanbul, recovering from a 6% drop on Thursday that had prompted a trading halt after a higher court moved to effectively remove main opposition leader Ozgur Ozel.