Nasdaq rises over 3%, S&P 500 adds over 2%, "fear index" collapses

Stocks in the United States sharply accelerated the pace of growth in trading on Tuesday. At the moment, the broad market index S&P 500 was up more than 2%, while the "technological" Nasdaq Composite added more than 3%. The nearest, May, Brent crude futures rose in price by 5%, while June futures, on the contrary, declined.

- The S&P 500 was at its high for the day by the time this story was published, reaching 6,517.52 points - up 2.7% from its closing level a day earlier.

- The Nasdaq Composite peaked at 21,532.18 points. This corresponds to an increase of 3.5% for the day. The shares of Nvidia, the world leader in the artificial intelligence processor market, rose 5.3%.

- The Dow Jones Industrial Average blue-chip index added more than 1,100 points on the moment to 46,318.24 points - 2.4 percent higher than it was at Monday's close.

- The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), known as the Wall Street Fear Index, fell 14% to 26 points.

- Contracts for delivery of Brent crude oil with execution in May, meanwhile, rose in price by about 5% and cost at the moment more than $119 per barrel, according to data from the Intercontinental Exchange. At the same time, June futures, on the contrary, cheapened by 2% - to about $105 per barrel.

Stocks rose sharply in the U.S. on investor hopes for a quick end to the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. In particular, the Dow Jones jumped after Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian expressed openness to ending the war with guarantees, CNBC wrote. Iran has the "necessary will to end the war" but expects conditions to be met, "especially key guarantees to prevent a repeat of aggression," Pezeshkian said in a conversation with European Council President António Costa, as outlined by Bloomberg.

The conditions, which Tehran outlined earlier in March, include a complete halt to attacks on Iran, guarantees that they will not be repeated in the future, payment of compensation and reparations for war damage, and international recognition of Iran's sovereign right to control the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route for exports of oil, gas, fertilizer and other goods from the Persian Gulf, Bloomberg recalled.

Earlier on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal wrote, citing sources, that US President Donald Trump, in a communication with his inner circle, also expressed his desire to end the war even if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. According to the newspaper, Trump decided that the US should achieve its goal of depleting Iran's navy and its missile stockpile, while resumption of free trade should be sought from Tehran through diplomacy.

Trump himself said in an interview with the New York Post that the U.S. "will not stay there [in the Middle East] for long," without, however, naming any exact dates. According to the U.S. president, traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, will resume after the end of the operation.

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