Wall Street inches higher, oil prices falls in tenuous peace between Iran and U.S.

A general view shows the New York Stock Exchange in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Wall Street rose modestly and oil prices fell another three per cent early Thursday while markets waited to see if the U.S. and Iran would strike a deal allowing tankers to deliver crude from the Persian Gulf again.

Futures for the S&P 500 ticked up 0.1 per cent while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 per cent before the opening bell. Nasdaq futures were essentially unchanged.

Iran said it was reviewing the latest American proposals on ending the war after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened the country with a new wave of bombing unless a deal is reached that includes reopening the crucial Strait of Hormuz to international shipping.

Hope that the two-month conflict could soon end buoyed international markets on Thursday, even as the U.S. military fired on an Iranian oil tanker attempting to breach the American blockade of Iran’s ports.

• Dow Jones updates here

The effective closure of the strait due to the war threatens the global economy but a reopening could allow oil to flow freely again and remove pressure on inflation that’s driving prices up for all kinds of products worldwide.

Oil prices retreated again Thursday morning, with a barrel of U.S. crude sliding $3.23 to $91.85. Brent crude, the international standard lost $3.30 to $97.97 per barrel.

U.S. stocks have remained resilient despite the war thanks partly to strong profit reports by big U.S. companies for the start of 2026.

McDonald’s rose 4.5 per cent after it posted better-than-expected sales in the first quarter. The fast food chain said a new burger and a continuing emphasis on value helped to lure more customers to its restaurants.

DoorDash soared more than 10 per cent after the food delivery company reported stronger profit than expected, lifted by a 33 per cent jump in revenue from the same quarter a year ago.

On the losing side was Whirlpool, which saw its shares crater 18 per cent after it posted a surprise loss in its most recent quarter. The appliance maker said it would implement price increases to restore margins during what it called a “rapid deterioration in macroeconomic conditions” in recent months due to the war in Iran.

In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained almost six per cent, hitting a new record.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped more than 3,300 points to 63,086.00 as markets in Tokyo reopened following “Golden Week” holidays.

At midday in Europe, Germany’s DAX edged 0.2 per cent higher and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.3 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 has gained nearly 20 per cent in the past three months and more than 70% in the past year, pushed higher by strong buying of tech shares that have benefited from the boom in artificial intelligence.

• S&P 500 market updates here

Computer chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron gained nine per cent and testing equipment maker Advantest Corp. added 6.8 per cent. Shin-Etsu Chemican gained 8.5 per cent.

“I think it’s a kind of bubble because buying activity concentrated on leading AI, artificial intelligence stock and semiconductor-related stocks. It’s a situation where only semiconductor stocks are being bought,” said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at MONEX.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1.7 per cent to 26,668.37.

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia was up 0.8 per cent at 8,862.40.

In South Korea, the Kospi reversed early losses, gaining 1.4 per cent to 7,490.05, the second straight day it has closed at a record high. The benchmark jumped nearly seven per cent on Wednesday to barrel past 7,000 for the first time.

Taiwan’s Taiex surged 1.9 per cent, lifted by a 3.1 per cent gain for big computer chipmaker TSMC.

Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach, The Associated Press