Hope for peace with Iran and SpaceX lifted spirits: stocks rose for second straight day

The main indices of the U.S. stock market rose for the second day in a row on Friday, June 12. Investor sentiment was influenced by the largest IPO in the history of the stock market - the placement of shares of SpaceX, as well as a possible peace agreement between the United States and Iran. Both sides are talking about agreeing on a peace deal, although US President Donald Trump was angered by the text of the preliminary agreement published by Iranian media. Brent crude futures continued their decline and are trading below $87.

- The S&P 500 broad market index rose 0.5% to 7431.46 points on June 12. During the week, the index added 0.64%.

- The blue-chip index Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.7% on Friday, ending trading at 51,202.26 points. At the end of the week, the index rose by 0.66%.

- The Nasdaq Composite Technology Sector Index rose 0.31% on the day to 25,888.84 points, and is up 0.7% on a highly volatile week.

- The Russell 2000 index of small and mid-cap companies rose 0.79% on Friday to a new high of 2943.99 points. During the week Russell 2000 added almost 4%.

- Brent crude futures were down 4% to $86.7 a barrel and WTI crude futures were down 3.9% to $84.2 a barrel.

On Friday morning, major US stock market indexes were down and oil was up after US President Donald Trump warned in a post on Truth Social that Iran "better get its affairs in order" even though a supposed US-Iran agreement was already on the table, CNBC wrote. Later on June 12, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that a final, agreed text had been "reached" on the U.S.-Iran deal, the network reported. After these comments, the main indices partially recovered their positions, and oil started to become cheaper.

Iranian state media reported that the draft memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran includes a U.S. commitment to lift oil sanctions, unblock the country's frozen assets in exchange for Iran's commitment to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump denied the claims, saying they "have nothing to do with the terms agreed to in writing." The peace agreement could be signed in Switzerland as early as Sunday, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

Investor sentiment was also influenced by the debut of SpaceX on Nasdaq. The stock ended the first day with a growth of 19.22%, reaching almost $161. Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire. Shares of Tesla also grew at the trading on Friday: by 1.8%, while some analysts predicted their fall due to the release of SpaceX.

Results in the technology sector were mixed on June 12, although interest in such securities has recently intensified on hopes of a successful debut for SpaceX, CNBC notes. The company also serves as an indicator of investor appetite for AI because of its xAI division, the channel writes. Thus, shares of AI chip developer Nvidia rose 0.2%, Broadcom - fell 0.9%, Micron Technology - 1.4%, while Qualcomm securities jumped 4.3%, Intel - 6.5%, and Advanced Micro Devices - 4.7 after the advice to buy from Citi.

Data released Friday showed that U.S. consumer sentiment rose in early June for the first time in four months, with lower gasoline prices bringing Americans some relief.

Consumers expect prices to rise at an annualized rate of 4.6% over the next year, up from 4.8% in May. They also expect prices to grow at an average annual rate of 3.4% over the next five to ten years, which offset the previous month's jump.

- "The topic of AI, in my opinion, is only getting stronger," CNBC quoted KKM Financial CEO Jeff Kilburg as saying. - Nothing moves in a straight line, and we've seen some Nasdaq slippage - perhaps more due to geopolitical tensions than the SpaceX IPO. But I think the ['Magnificent Seven'] leadership should continue."

- "[SpaceX is] not a stock you buy based on fundamentals. To me, the analogy is Amazon. It was a company that changed the way we live," Nancy Tengler, CEO and chief investment officer of Laffer Tengler Investments, told Reuters in a commentary. - "If the stock drops to $100, it's not an ideal outcome, but it wouldn't change our long-term view: we want to get involved.

- "The decline in oil and gasoline prices in recent days and the pullback in consumers' short- and long-term inflation expectations provides some relief from a monetary policy perspective," Vail Hartman, an analyst of U.S. rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets, told Bloomberg. - However, inflation readings remain elevated from pre-war levels and in the broader historical context."

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor