[New York Stock Exchange] Opens Higher on Hopes for Second-Round Agreement

by Hwang Yoonju

Published 21 Apr.2026 22:46(KST)

International Oil Prices Continue to Decline

New York Stock Exchange. New York (USA) ? Special Correspondent Yoonju Hwang

On April 21 (local time), the three major U.S. stock indices opened higher across the board. This upward movement came after Iran decided to proceed with a second round of talks and U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at the possibility of reaching an agreement.

According to the Home Trading System (HTS), as of 9:35 a.m. at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) was up 230.67 points (0.47%) from the previous session, standing at 49,673.23. The S&P 500 Index, which focuses on large-cap stocks, rose by 3.49 points (0.05%) to 7,111.73, while the Nasdaq Index, which is weighted toward tech stocks, was up 1.736 points (0.06%) at 24,419.568.

The market is moving calmly as it closely watches whether the second round of talks will indeed take place. In a phone interview with CNBC ahead of the talks, President Trump stated, "Eventually, we will reach an excellent agreement." He added, "I don't think they have any other choice," and continued, "I believe we are in a very favorable negotiating position to do what other (U.S.) presidents should have done over the past 47 years."

Just before the interview, President Trump also posted on social media, stating, "Iran has violated the ceasefire agreement multiple times."

International oil prices are declining. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is down 0.67% from the previous session, trading at 89.01 dollars per barrel. Brent crude is down 0.74% from the previous session, currently at 94.75 dollars per barrel.

Although President Trump is sending mixed messages, the market remains broadly optimistic. Oh Sungkwon, Chief Equity Strategist at Wells Fargo, said, "We still believe the market will continue its upward trend," explaining, "We have set our target at 7,300 by July, which is essentially our year-end target." He added, "We expect the economy to be fine over the next three months."

The top market capitalization stocks are showing mixed performances. Nvidia is down 0.44%, Apple down 0.55%, Microsoft up 0.77%, Amazon up 1.74%, Alphabet up 0.33%, and Meta up 0.54%, among others.