Global stocks surged on Wednesday while Brent crude dropped after reports that the United States and Iran were nearing an agreement to end the Gulf war.
Brent crude fell to just below $100 a barrel, its lowest level in two weeks, before trading at $101.56, down 7.5% on the day.
The move reflected expectations that oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz could improve if a deal is reached.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.1%, the S&P 500 rose 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.6%.
Europe’s STOXX 600 index climbed 2.2% after gaining 0.7% a day earlier. MSCI’s All-Country World Index rose 1.64% to a fresh record.
Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone, said markets had shifted into “buy everything” mode as investors moved ahead of confirmation of a possible positive outcome.
The US dollar fell 0.3% against major peers as safe-haven demand eased. The yen rose as much as 1.8% against the dollar, triggering speculation about another round of intervention.
US government bond yields declined, with the 10-year Treasury yield falling 6.2 basis points to 4.354%.
AI-linked shares added momentum to the rally after Advanced Micro Devices forecast second-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations.
Advanced Micro Devices shares jumped about 17%, while Intel, Arm Holdings and Qualcomm also rose.
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 3.2%, while Samsung Electronics surged 14% and topped $1 trillion in market value.
