Stocks climb on chips, Brent gains on Iran deal doubts
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, June 18 (Reuters) – Major stock indexes rose on Thursday as semiconductor stocks rose, while Brent oil fell to its lowest level in weeks before finishing slightly higher.
An interim agreement between the United States and Iran to end the Middle East war has come into effect, with oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, signaling the resumption of long-restricted energy flows.
But US Vice President J.D. Vance warned Israel against further attacks against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, raising doubts about the durability of the US-Iran ceasefire agreement.
Brent crude oil futures settled at $79.85 per barrel, up 30 cents, or 0.38%, after falling as low as $76.54 at the beginning of the session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell 19 cents, or 0.25%, to close at $76.60 a barrel.
Europe is more vulnerable than the United States to rising inflation resulting from higher oil prices.
The US dollar index hit a one-year high after the Fed’s hawkish stance on Wednesday increased bets on a rate hike this year.
The Nasdaq led gains on Wall Street, rising 1.9%, while the Philadelphia semiconductor index rose 6.4%.
US President Donald Trump said that iPhone manufacturer Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and manufacture its chips in the USA. Intel shares rose 10.6%.
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York, noted that there was a recovery in stocks compared to the day before.
“The reason for the optimism was that Trump and the President of Iran signed the memorandum of understanding and oil prices fell,” he said, adding: “There is excitement that a more solid agreement will come to fruition in 60 days, and I hope that by then the low supply factor in the oil market will be reversed.”
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 72.15 points, or 0.14%, to 51,564.70 points, the S&P 500 Index rose 80.48 points, or 1.08%, to 7,500.58 points and the Nasdaq Composite rose 496.28 points, or 1.91%, to 26,517.93 points.
With the market closed Friday for the Juneteenth holiday, which marks the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans, the S&P 500 posted a weekly gain of 0.93%, compared with the Nasdaq’s 2.43% gain and the Dow’s 0.71% gain.
MSCI’s gauge of global equities rose 6.48 points, or 0.58%, to 1,127.60.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.34 percent.
In foreign exchange, the dollar index, which measures the dollar’s value against a range of currencies including the yen, euro and sterling, rose 0.45% to 100.80, its highest level since May 2025. It rose 0.85% in the previous session, marking the biggest single-day jump in more than three months.
