The Dow Jones industrial average opened at a record high on expectations of a U.S.-Iran agreement and a drop in global oil prices. SpaceX, which made a successful debut on the New York stock market last week, surged for a third straight day and rose to No. 5 by market capitalization.
At 9:31 a.m. on the 16th (local time), the Dow Jones industrial average was up 306.27 points, or 0.59%, at 51,977.30.
The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 rose 0.95 points, or 0.01%, to start at 7,555.24.
By contrast, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite opened down 8.40 points, or 0.03%, at 26,675.54, starting in negative territory. Aside from Micron, most semiconductor stocks were weak.
The Dow's gain is seen as driven by easing Middle East tensions and lower oil prices. On the day, U.S. President Donald Trump stressed that an end-of-war agreement with Iran would proceed without a hitch and that Iran would not acquire nuclear weapons. With oil supply expected to increase, global oil prices fell for a second straight day.
SpaceX's intraday market capitalization topped $2.7 trillion (about 4,075 trillion won), overtaking Amazon to rank No. 5 among global corporations by market cap.
SpaceX at one point traded at $225.6, up 16% from the previous close before 10 a.m. It briefly surpassed No. 4 Microsoft's $2.93 trillion (about 4,420 trillion won) market cap but slipped back to No. 5 and was trading up about 10% around 10:30 a.m.
The Federal Reserve Board is holding its first Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting since new Chair Kevin Warsh took office to discuss a rate decision. Markets largely expect rates to be kept on hold this time and are watching whether new Chair Kevin Warsh signals further tightening.