[New York Stock Exchange] Major Indexes Close Up Over 1% as Treasury Yields and Oil Prices Fall

Trump's "Final Stage" Comment on Iran War Moves Markets
Nvidia's Q1 Earnings Exceed Expectations

On May 20 (local time), the three major U.S. stock indices all closed higher as U.S. President Donald Trump remarked that the Iran war was in its "final stages," leading to declines in U.S. Treasury yields and international oil prices.

On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 50,009.35, up 645.47 points (1.31%) from the previous session. The S&P 500 index, which focuses on large-cap stocks, rose 79.36 points (1.08%) to end at 7,432.97, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index finished at 26,270.359, up 399.65 points (1.55%).

On this day, international oil prices all ended lower. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, July delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $98.26 per barrel, down 5.66% from the previous session. July delivery Brent crude futures on the ICE Futures Exchange closed at $105.02 per barrel, down 5.63%.

According to CNBC, the decline in international oil prices occurred after U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that negotiations with Iran had entered the "final stage."

As a result, Treasury yields also fell. According to Investing.com, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note was down 9.3 basis points (1bp = 0.01 percentage point) at 4.581%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury note was down 6.5 basis points at 5.116%.

Despite the fact that the Federal Reserve’s April meeting minutes, released that day, reflected a more hawkish stance, the market responded more strongly to the potential end of the Iran war. In the April minutes, most Fed officials predicted that further rate hikes would be inevitable if the Middle East conflict worsened inflation. The report stated, "A number of participants emphasized that if inflation continues to run persistently above 2%, it would likely be appropriate to further tighten monetary policy."

After the market closed, Nvidia announced that its first-quarter revenue for the fiscal year was $81.62 billion, significantly surpassing the market estimate of $78.86 billion. The company added that its second-quarter revenue forecast ranges from $89.18 billion to $92.82 billion.

James Demmert, Chief Investment Officer at Main Street Research, said, "Nvidia is the most important artificial intelligence (AI) stock, and since a significant portion of the market rally in recent years has been driven by the remarkable capabilities of AI, the results of the earnings report to be released on Wednesday will be extremely significant for the market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.