Stock market today: Live updates
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City.
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Stock futures rose on Friday as Iranian state media reported that a proposed peace deal would see the Strait of Hormuz reopen.
S&P 500 futures added roughly 0.6% along with Nasdaq-100 futures. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 363 points, or 0.7%.
Global stocks were also higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 2.8%, India’s Nifty 50 was up 1.3%, South Korea’s Kospi gained 4.6% — and the Shanghai Composite advanced more than 1%. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 gained 1.7%.
Iranian state media reported that the draft version of the Iran-U.S. memorandum of understanding includes a commitment from the U.S. to lift oil sanctions, as well as a commitment from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
A peace deal could be signed in Switzerland as soon as Sunday, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the plans.
Friday’s rally comes after a rally on Thursday, thanks to a rebound in chip stocks and President Donald Trump signaling that a peace deal with Iran was near.
Traders are also watching SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket maker, as it debuts on the Nasdaq. SpaceX, set to go public under the ticker symbol SPCX, has set a fixed price of $135 per share, which would put its valuation at $1.77 trillion.
The company plans to sell 555.6 million shares, amounting to a $75 billion fundraise that would be the largest initial public offering in history. It’s more than triple the size of Alibaba’s $22 billion offering in 2014, currently the biggest U.S. IPO to date.
If the IPO goes according to plan, it could offer a major catalyst for stocks on Friday. But some investors are concerned that due to the offering’s sheer size, it could pressure the market. Even if the market can digest these new shares of SpaceX, IPOs are known to be volatile, and Friday’s offering could trigger another rotation in tech leadership as investors find capital to fund their new issues.
“History indicates that large IPO issuance occurs during periods of strong equity market sentiment, but the added equity supply can cause some indigestion. Household equity exposure already sits close to an all-time high, which suggests they may sell existing holdings to fund these new positions,” wrote Wells Fargo Investment Institute global equity strategist Douglas Beath.
“Combined with the ongoing geopolitical tensions and the upcoming midterm elections, it could be one more reason for markets to display greater choppiness in the second half.”
“We remain favorable on the AI theme and the Information Technology sector but would not chase this run up,” he added, noting that as of May 29 the sector has gained 37% since April compared to the S&P 500’s 17% advance in the same period.
Thursday’s rally lifted the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite back into the green for the week, with the indexes on pace to add 0.14% and 0.39%, respectively. The blue-chip Dow trailed behind, on pace to end the week 0.04% lower.
