Wall Street inches higher, oil prices falls in tenuous peace between Iran and US

Iran said it was reviewing the latest American proposals on ending the war after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened the country with a new wave of bombing unless a deal is reached that includes reopening the crucial Strait of Hormuz to international shipping.

Hope that the two-month conflict could soon end buoyed international markets on Thursday, even as the U.S. military fired on an Iranian oil tanker attempting to breach the American blockade of Iran’s ports.

The effective closure of the strait due to the war threatens the global economy but a reopening could allow oil to flow freely again and remove pressure on inflation that’s driving prices up for all kinds of products worldwide.

Oil prices retreated again Thursday morning, with a barrel of U.S. crude sliding $3.23 to $91.85. Brent crude, the international standard lost $3.30 to $97.97 per barrel.

U.S. stocks have remained resilient despite the war thanks partly to strong profit reports by big U.S. companies for the start of 2026.

McDonald's rose 4.5% after it posted better-than-expected sales in the first quarter. The fast food chain said a new burger and a continuing emphasis on value helped to lure more customers to its restaurants.

DoorDash soared more than 10% after the food delivery company reported stronger profit than expected, lifted by a 33% jump in revenue from the same quarter a year ago.

On the losing side was Whirlpool, which saw its shares crater 18% after it posted a surprise loss in its most recent quarter. The appliance maker said it would implement price increases to restore margins during what it called a “rapid deterioration in macroeconomic conditions” in recent months due to the war in Iran.

In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained almost 6%, hitting a new record.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped more than 3,300 points to 63,086.00 as markets in Tokyo reopened following “Golden Week” holidays.

At midday in Europe, Germany’s DAX edged 0.2% higher and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3%. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.3%.

Japan's Nikkei 225 has gained nearly 20% in the past three months and more than 70% in the past year, pushed higher by strong buying of tech shares that have benefited from the boom in artificial intelligence.

Computer chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron gained 9% and testing equipment maker Advantest Corp. added 6.8%. Shin-Etsu Chemican gained 8.5%.

“I think it’s a kind of bubble because buying activity concentrated on leading AI, artificial intelligence stock and semiconductor-related stocks. It’s a situation where only semiconductor stocks are being bought,” said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at MONEX.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1.7% to 26,668.37.

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia was up 0.8% at 8,862.40.

In South Korea, the Kospi reversed early losses, gaining 1.4% to 7,490.05, the second straight day it has closed at a record high. The benchmark jumped nearly 7% on Wednesday to barrel past 7,000 for the first time.

Taiwan's Taiex surged 1.9%, lifted by a 3.1% gain for big computer chipmaker TSMC.