The U.S. stock markets finished higher on Wednesday. At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 48,739, up 0.5 % from the previous day. A few minutes earlier the broader S&P 500 had risen about 6,870 points, a gain of 0.8 %, while the Nasdaq 100 was trading near 25,095 points, up 1.5 %. Investors fed their renewed optimism partly from a New York Times report that U.S. intelligence agents had learned Iranian spy officials were showing openness to talks about ending the war. In addition, President Donald Trump’s announcement that U.S. merchant ships should be escorted through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to reassure some market participants.
The euro strengthened against the dollar on Wednesday evening. One euro bought 1.1638 U.S. dollars, and one U.S. dollar was worth 0.8593 euros. Gold made a solid gain; a fine troy ounce fetched $5,141, up 1 % and equaling €142.02 per gram. Meanwhile, oil rose: a barrel of North Sea Brent traded at $81.60 at about 10 p.m. German time, 20 cents or 0.3 % higher than its closing price the previous day.