International oil prices turned higher again, but the three major New York stock indexes ended up.
On the 17th (U.S. Eastern time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 46,993.26, up 46.85 points (0.10%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 rose 16.71 points (0.25%) to 6,716.09, and the Nasdaq composite added 105.35 points (0.47%) to close at 22,479.53.
News that oil tanker traffic is gradually resuming in the Strait of Hormuz worked positively on the market. Kevin Hassett, Chairperson of the White House National Economic Council (NEC), said in an interview with CNBC, "Tankers have already begun passing through the strait little by little," and "I see this as a sign of how limited Iran's capabilities are."
In particular, President Donald Trump expressed displeasure by saying the United States did not need help from allies to lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, putting upward pressure on oil prices and downward pressure on stock prices. This suggests investors had expected the United States and its allies to cooperate in the Strait of Hormuz.
The market is watching for the outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, which opens for a two-day schedule starting today. A hold on the benchmark interest rate is considered a foregone conclusion at this meeting. Attention is on what remarks Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell will make about the war with Iran, the surge in oil prices, and the resulting inflation concerns.
Mega-cap tech companies with a market capitalization of $1 trillion or more were mixed without a clear direction. Amazon and Alphabet rose more than 1%, while Broadcom fell more than 1%.