Stocks Soar, Oil Sinks After Iran Declares the Strait of Hormuz Open

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Pierre Bienaimé (0:33)

Stocks are up, oil is down. After Iran says the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping corridor is now open. So where does that leave the US war with Iran? A senior Trump administration official says there may be more talks in Pakistan on Monday.

And President Trump's feud with Pope Leo is dividing American Catholics.

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Pierre Bienaimé (1:01)

It's Friday, April 17th. I'm Pierre Bienaimé for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for Alex Ossola. This is the PM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that moved the world today.

We begin in Iran, whose foreign minister today said the Strait of Hormuz is now, quote, completely open to commercial ships. But President Trump said the US naval blockade on Iranian ports would remain. There's still uncertainty for shippers in the region. They want clear assurances from Iran that it won't attack ships before resuming normal traffic through the Strait. Joining me now is national security correspondent Shelby Holliday. Shelby, this is the third time you've joined us this week to talk about this conflict, where things are developing quickly.

Get us up to speed. What's going on now in the waters around Iran?

Shelby Holliday (1:49)

It's a really fluid situation, even though Iran's foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz is open, ships can transit freely.

It's a little bit unclear if anything's actually changed. Our understanding is that Iran is still asking ships to go through its preferred route through a corridor that they've established and in some cases even charged tolls for ships to go through. And then on the US side, nothing has changed with respect to the blockade. The US is still maintaining this economic pressure. President Trump welcomed this announcement by Iran that the Strait was open and there was some talk about clearing mines. But so far shipping companies are nervous to move through the Strait because they want more of a guarantee that hostilities have ended and that the threats do not exist.

Pierre Bienaimé (2:32)

And the ceasefire between the two countries is set to expire Tuesday. What do we know about negotiations between these two sides?

Shelby Holliday (2:38)

The highly enriched uranium or HEU seems to be the biggest sticking point, at least when you're listening to President Trump. That seems to be the one thing that he's very focused on.

And he has said that the US will go in and get what he calls the nuclear dust, Iran's remaining nuclear material, so that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. And then you also have these key issues of Iran's missile and drone stockpiles and also their support for proxy groups. President Trump has said that he will not lift the US blockade of Iranian ports unless Iran agrees to all of these things the US is asking.

Pierre Bienaimé (3:11)

That was Wall Street Journal National Security Correspondent, Shelby Holliday. Thank you, Shelby.

Shelby Holliday (3:15)

Thank you.

Pierre Bienaimé (3:16)

Talks between the US and Iran haven't officially been scheduled, but a senior Trump administration official says they're likely to take place Monday in Pakistan. What's News in Markets host Imani Moise says hopes for a resolution to the war again lifted US stocks today.

Imani Moise (3:31)

The big news of today is obviously Iran declaring the Strait of Hormuz open. And whether or not ships are actually passing through the waterway, markets are seeing that as a sign that tensions in the region are thawing and we're perhaps moving closer to some sort of resolution. Investors are really looking past the war. And once you start doing that, they start seeing positive signs elsewhere. Banks reporting that consumers are strong, tech companies saying AI demand remains strong. So there's a lot of really bullish signs for investors to push the markets higher.

Pierre Bienaimé (4:04)

The Nasdaq rose for the 13th straight trading day, the longest winning streak since 1992 It closed up 1.5% today, while the S&P closed at a record for the third time this week. The Dow today climbed 1.8% and closed at its highest level since before the war. And oil tumbled, with the international benchmark Brent Crude diving more than 9% to about $90 a barrel.