As expectations grew for a deal in negotiations between the United States and Iran, international oil prices fell, and all three major New York stock indexes closed higher.
On the 21st (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 276.31 points (0.55%) from the prior session to close at 50,285.66, a record high.
The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 rose 12.75 points (0.17%) to 7,445.72, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 22.74 points (0.09%) to finish at 26,293.10.
Investors reacted sensitively to news about U.S.-Iran talks that day. Early in the session, tensions rose after a Reuters report said Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, banned the export of enriched uranium. In response, international oil prices and U.S. Government Bonds yields briefly jumped, and stocks turned weaker.
However, as hopes for progress in the talks revived in the afternoon, investor sentiment recovered. Markets focused on the previous day's remark by U.S. President Donald Trump that "talks with Iran are in the final stage."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said there are "positive signs," bolstering the prospects for negotiations. However, he warned that if Iran moves to impose tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, a diplomatic deal could become difficult.
On expectations for eased Middle East tensions, international oil prices also turned lower. Brent crude futures for July settled at $102.58 per barrel, down 2.32% from the prior session, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for July fell 1.94% to $96.35.
U.S. Government Bonds yields also stabilized. According to Bloomberg, the U.S. 10-year Government Bonds yield traded around 4.55%, down 3 basis points (1 bp = 0.01 percentage point).
By stock, Nvidia fell 1.8% despite reporting results that beat market expectations. The move was attributed to lofty earnings expectations and profit-taking.
By contrast, IBM jumped 12.4% on hopes of benefiting from U.S. government support for quantum computing, and related stocks such as Rigetti Computing also advanced.
Walmart fell more than 7% after issuing a conservative earnings outlook and flagging concerns about fuel costs.
With major corporations' earnings season effectively wrapped up, some analysts say investor focus is shifting back to the Middle East situation and U.S.-Iran talks.
Jason Pride, head of investment strategy and research at Glenmede, said, "The day's market volatility was the result of investors reacting sensitively to reports on geopolitical risk," and predicted, "For the time being, stocks are likely to take their cue from the flow of news on U.S.-Iran talks."