Wall Street surges as Iran halts strikes

US stocks surged at the opening bell after Iran said it would end its strikes against Israel. Wall Street stocks leapt as the Iranian news agency Fars said military operations would be brought to a halt. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up by as much as 1.6pc, while the S&P 500 gained 0.7pc. It came as oil prices retreated following an earlier jump of around 5pc to $98 a barrel. The rise had been driven by fresh assaults by both Israel and Iran, which raised doubts about a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. However, Iran’s decision to halt strikes left oil up 1.2pc on the day at less than $94. The bounce in US stocks helped the Nasdaq to recover some of the losses suffered on Friday, when the index slumped by 4.2pc. Stock markets have recently been grappling with a tech sell-off over concerns that an AI bubble could pop. Trading was briefly halted on South Korea’s chip-heavy Kospi, the world’s best-performing market this year, which eventually closed down 8.3pc. It has fallen nearly 16pc from last week’s record high. Mohit Kumar, chief Europe economist at Jefferies, said stronger-than-expected US employment figures on Friday also meant markets “turned ugly”. It increased bets on the Federal Reserve raising interest rates later this year, which would tighten financial conditions just as the tech sector braces for the giant listings of SpaceX and AI chatbot maker Anthropic. Japan’s Nikkei fell 3.9pc, while Taiwan’s benchmark sank 3.5pc. The FTSE 100 was little changed on Monday. Thanks for following our coverage of financial markets today. Before we go, a quick update on the latest. US stocks rebounded from a sharp sell-off on Friday caused by better than expected jobs data, which led to fears the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates. The uncertainty surrounding the conflict in the Middle East also hit markets amid concerns about higher oil prices and the impacts on inflation. Meanwhile, Asian stocks suffered sharp falls as traders led a major sell-off on the back of the tour in US technology stocks last week. US stocks were up on Monday in a rebound from a sharp sell-off on Wall Street last week. The S&P 500 was up 0.8pc by the middle of Monday’s session, while the tech heavy Nasdaq 100 index was up by almost 2.2pc. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 0.2pc too. It marked a rebound from a sharp slump on Friday sparked by better-than-expected jobs data which led to fears of higher interest rates. Britain’s FTSE 100 index finished Monday’s session almost entirely unchanged following a day of volatile trading for the index. Energy and defence stocks helped lift the FTSE 100 index and offset sharp fall in housebuilders’ stocks, as markets worldwide were hit by fears surrounding the conflict in the Middle East. It saw the UK’s main stock index end Monday’s session up by 0.1pc The index was lifted by a 0.75pc increase in BP’s stock price as oil prices surged on the renewed outbreak of fighting between Israel and Iran. BAE Systems’ share price also finished Monday up by 1pc. Meanwhile, housebuilders Berkeley Group, Persimmon, and Barratt Redrow all fell by more than 2pc amid concerns about soaring costs and sluggish demand. US airlines saw their fuel costs increase by 78pc in April, to nearly $6.5bn (£4.9bn), due to ‌the conflict Middle East, according to new data from the U.S. Transportation Department. The cost of a gallon of jet fuel rose to $4.11 in April, compared to just $2.31 in April last year, putting mounting pressure on airlines who have lifted ticket prices in response. It has seen fares for flights with a US origin rise by as ‌much as ​31pc for domestic ⁠trips and 22pc for international ones, when compared to the same weeks in 2025, according to search data from KAYAK. Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines, ‌the ‌ultra low-cost airline, ⁠ceased operations in May, citing the “sustained rise in fuel prices in recent weeks”. The International Air Transport Association, which represents over 370 airlines, expects fuel bill to surge to about $350 billion this year from roughly $252 billion in 2025. Shares in semiconductor companies climbed on Wall Street in a rebound from a heavy sell-off at the end of last week. Micron jumped 8.3pc and Nvidia rose 1.6pc, while Broadcom shares added 3.2pc. Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments believes that “the market overreacted on Friday” with a tech sector sell-off after Broadcom delivered a forecast that disappointed investores. The Nasdaq fell 4.2pc on Friday as it was also hit by solid US jobs data that fueled fears that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates later this year. Mr Sarhan said: “Now we have cooler heads prevail, and buyers are showing up and buying the latest dip.” He added that investors also want to believe that “we’re making progress with the Middle East” after Iran said it was ending its latest military operation targeting Israel. US stocks surged at the opening bell after Iran said it would end its strikes against Israel. The tech-heavy Nasdaq leapt 1.5pc to 26,098.10, recovering some of the losses suffered during a 4.2pc drop on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 1pc to 7,454.22 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.7pc to 51,230.77. An American semiconductor giant has unveiled plans to invest £2bn in Britain to build new AI supercomputers. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), a rival to Nvidia , said on Monday it would invest in a string of UK-based programmes in the next five years, including a project to build a supercomputer aimed at nuclear fusion . The US-listed business makes the graphics chips driving the world’s AI boom and is worth £570bn. Lisa Su, the chief executive of AMD, said the company planned to “expand access to the compute infrastructure needed to advance sovereign AI” in Britain. The Chancellor delivered a speech at London Tech Week hours after Sir Keir Starmer used his address to announce that children will be blocked from taking, sharing or viewing nude images on their phones. You can watch Rachel Reeves’s appearance here: European wholesale gas prices have retreated after Iran said it would stop its strikes against Israel. Dutch TTF, the Continent’s benchmark, was up 2.7pc, having earlier surged by as much as 6.2pc. Meanwhile, stock markets were mixed as after the apparent easing of tensions in the Middle East. The FTSE 100 was up 0.1pc but the Cac 40 in France and Dax in Germany were down 0.1pc and 0.3pc, respectively. Iran has declared that its military strikes against Israel have ended, the country’s media has reported. Oil prices remained up 1.4pc at around $94 a barrel, following the report by the Fars news agency, but this was well down from earlier gains of more than 5pc to nearly $98. Iran’s central military command signalled it would retaliate if Israel resumed strikes on Lebanon. US stock indexes ‌rose in premarket trading as chip companies steadied after plunging at the end of last week. Shares of Nvidia, Broadcom and Micron Technology rose between 1.5pc and 3.9pc ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street, rebounding from a sharp sell-off on Friday that wiped out $1 trillion in market value. The S&P ​500 and Nasdaq were on track to open higher after brushing end to last week, kicked off by underwhelming results from Broadcom. Losses were exacerbated when traders bet that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates to combat the risk of higher inflation fgrom the Iran war. Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, said: “We do not expect investors to lose confidence in the AI outlook. “Although tech stocks have come under pressure in recent days amid ⁠concerns about whether expectations can be met, business fundamentals remain strong.” The S&P 500 was up 0.4pc in premarket trading, while the Nasdaq 100 rose by 0.7pc. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1pc. Donald Trump said Israel and Iran were in fin