The Strait of Hormuz reopened and Wall Street smashed all records, in what became a historic week for the books.
Weeks of war, inflation fears and $100 crude culminated Friday in a sequence of announcements that traders had been waiting for since February 28, when the U.S. and Israel initiated coordinated military operations against Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared the waterway completely open for all commercial vessels for the remaining period of the ceasefire. President Donald Trump followed with a flurry of posts on Truth Social, claiming credit for the opening and closing the sequence with the most consequential line of the day: Iran had agreed to never close the strait again.
“It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World,” Trump wrote on social media. According to Axios, citing unnamed sources, the U.S. is considering releasing $20 billion in frozen Iranian funds so long as Iran gives up its stockpile of enriched uranium.
Oil plunged 15% to around $80 a barrel by midday Friday. WTI crude is now down 27% in two weeks — its worst two-week decline since April 2020 — as traders priced out the supply shock that had defined the first quarter.
The S&P 500 — as tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) — crossed 7,100 for the first time in its history, posting its third consecutive week of gains and rising 12% over that stretch, the best three-week performance since April 2020.
The Nasdaq 100 — as tracked by the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) — reached 26,700, extending its winning run to 13 consecutive sessions. A streak of that length has occurred only four times in the index’s history since 1985, and only once since 2013. The 13-day advance also ranks as the strongest since the pandemic rebound of April 2020.
Table: Historical Episodes Of Nasdaq 100 Making A 13-Day Consecutive Rally
Small caps joined the rally. The Russell 2000 hit a record at 2,780, up 15% over 13 sessions, closing in the green every single day of the week.
The week’s biggest winners within the S&P 500 reflected a broad return of risk appetite. Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) surged 32%. Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) rose 30% — its best week since 1999. Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) added 25% as crypto names rallied alongside growth stocks.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) rallied to $78,000 on Friday, and was up over 10% for the week – on pace for its best weekly performance since November 2024.
The biggest losers were last month’s biggest winners. Energy names bore the brunt of crude’s collapse.
APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA), Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) and Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA) each fell roughly 10% on the week as the war premium that had defined the first quarter began to unwind in earnest.
Michigan’s automakers extended their own recovery. General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) rallied 7.7%, its best weekly performance since October 2025. Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) gained 7%, notching its third consecutive week of gains.
The ceasefire expires April 21. Talks between Washington and Tehran resume Sunday in Islamabad.
On Wall Street, the math was simple: peace is good for business.
Image: Shutterstock
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