As U.S. President Donald Trump neared a final decision on whether to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end the conflict between the United States and Iran, New York stocks closed higher across the board.
On the 29th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 363.49 points (0.72%) from the previous session to finish at 51,032.46. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 gained 16.43 points (0.22%) to 7,850.06, and the Nasdaq rose 55.15 points (0.20%) to 26,972.62. All three major indexes closed at a record high.
Hopes for an end-of-war agreement between the United States and Iran continued. The two countries are reportedly discussing an MOU that includes normalizing passage through the Strait of Hormuz and talks on the nuclear issue.
Trump held a meeting with aides in the White House Situation Room that day to discuss the matter but did not make a final decision. Still, the fact that talks toward signing an end-of-war MOU were ongoing buoyed the stock market.
International oil prices also fell. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, July West Texas Intermediate (WTI) settled at $87.93 per barrel, down 1.09% from the previous session. Brent crude also fell 1.72% to $91.99 per barrel.
Chip stocks were mixed by name. Nvidia and TSMC fell more than 1%, and Intel dropped more than 5%. In contrast, Micron and Arm climbed more than 5%, and Qualcomm also posted gains of more than 3%.
Computer maker Dell Technologies surged 32.76% after raising its annual outlook on the back of stronger demand for AI data center servers.
Dell's strong results fueled expectations for increased AI infrastructure investment, lifting rival Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE) by 12.64%. Super Micro Computer (11.60%) and Oracle (10.84%), among other AI data center-related names, also rallied.