The three leading U.S. indexes saw massive gains on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 gained 2.91% to finish the session at 6,528.52, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 3.83% to reach 21,590.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1,125.37 points, or 2.49%, to 46,341.51.

— Sean Conlon

On Friday, Bank of America upgraded Shake Shack to a neutral rating from underperform.

Shares of the fast-casual burger chain have popped 8% this year. They were last trading 5% higher on Tuesday.

Bank of America analyst Sara Senatore believes that the company's new initiatives support margin and same-store sales growth.

"Menu innovation (Dubai shake, Korean menu) developed through the company's stage-gate process (culinary, operational, and financial standards) and featured value ($1-$3- $5 in-app menu) are contributing to more stable same store traffic (vs declines previously), despite a choppy macro backdrop," she wrote.

Meanwhile, supply chain opportunities should help mitigate inflation. Senatore also believes that Shake Shack could sustain its current mid-teens net restaurant growth rate in the U.S. for at least the next five years.

— Lisa Kailai Han

The three major averages surged on Tuesday after an unconfirmed report said Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, is ready to end the conflict in the Middle East with guarantees.

At session highs, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1,102 points, or 2.4%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.7% and about 3.7%, respectively.

— Sean Conlon

As the market surges on Tuesday, some stocks are owed more credit than others.

The S&P 500 climbed more than 2.5% in afternoon trading. If that holds, it would mark the index's best session since May.

On Semiconductor led the S&P 500 up with a rally of more than 10%. Monolithic Power and Coinbase followed, rising more than 8% each. United Airlines and Carnival came next, as each rallied close to 8%.

But other stocks restricted gains for the broad index. Constellation Energy dropped more than 7%, making it the worst performer in the benchmark. McCormick shares lost more than 6% after announcing its purchase of Unilever's food business.

— Alex Harring

Emerson Electric is poised to rise as its shift toward industrial automation drives order volumes across its businesses, according to Jefferies.

The investment firm upgraded the engineering services stock to buy from hold. It also hiked its price target on shares to $175 from $160, implying roughly 42% upside from Monday's close.

"Strong orders momentum across core growth verticals should support an acceleration in earnings growth from [low-single digits] in [the first half of the year] to [low-double digits] exiting FY26 and FY27," analyst Stephen Volkmann said in a note to clients. "In addition, EMR has delivered 800 bps of margin improvement through operation and portfolio actions over the last decade which we believe will support higher valuation multiples."

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Liz Napolitano

Wall Street's fear gauge took a leg down on Tuesday.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) dropped more than 4 points, sitting around the 26 mark. Still, the index has add nearly a third of its value in March as the U.S.-Iran conflict drove up crude oil prices.

— Alex Harring

Shares of social media platform Snap rose more than 12% after a report from Bloomberg that activist investor Irenic Capital Management is building a stake in the company. 

In a public letter to CEO Evan Spiegel, Irenic said they see a path to $26.37 for the stock, compared to the $4.50 it was trading at midday Tuesday. The firm also launched a website outlining its plans to get the company to "snap back to reality."

Snap board chair Michael Lynton in a statement said that Snap welcomes all shareholder input, and that the company is focused on "building a more efficient, profitable business while investing with discipline in our long-term roadmap."

— Davis Giangiulio and Stephen Desaulniers

Software maker Oracle has started telling employees that it's conducting a round of layoffs, two people familiar with the move told CNBC.

The layoffs were in the thousands, said the people, who asked not to be identified to discuss a confidential matter. As of May 2025, the company employed 162,000 people.

Shares of Oracle have come down 27% so far this year as investors ponder competitive risk from generative artificial intelligence models, as well as the effect of infrastructure investments on Oracle's cash flow.

The software stock popped 2.6% in midday trading.

— Jordan Novet and Sarah Min

President Donald Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday that he believes the Iran war will likely end soon, with other nations taking the lead in reopening the Strait of Hormuz themselves.

"We're not going to be there too much longer. We're obliterating the s–t out of them right now, it's a total obliteration," the president told The Post.

"Well, I think it'll automatically open, but my attitude is, I've obliterated the country. They have no strength left, and let the countries that are using the strait, let them go and open it… because I would imagine whoever's controlling the oil will be very happy to open the strait, he said.

— Sarah Min

While the S&P 500 rallied on Tuesday in the last trading day of the month, 10 out of the 11 sectors that make up the broad index were set to end March negative.

Industrials were the worst performer in March, down 10% in the month as of early trading Tuesday. Next were health care and communication services, both off more than 9%.

The one outlier, unsurprisingly, was the energy sector, which is up more than 12.5% in the month as companies are set to benefit from higher oil prices and supply disruptions.

— Davis Giangiulio

Gold futures are pacing for a third straight winning session for the first time since January 29. It hit a high of 4,649.5 on Tuesday, the highest level since March 20 when gold traded as high as 4,738.2. The intraday all-time high for gold stands at 5,626.8, and the record settle for gold is at 5,354.8, both on January 29.

Gold is down 12.9% month to date since the Iran war began, on pace for its first negative month in nine, and its worst monthly decline going back to October 2008 when gold fell 18.46%.

Gold miners rallied Tuesday, with the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) higher by more than 4%.

— Gina Francolla and Sarah Min

Despite facing a war and soaring gas prices, consumer confidence improved in March, the Conference Board reported Tuesday. Labor market news wasn't as good, with job openings and hirings both falling in February.

The Conference Board reported that its headline confidence index edged higher to 91.8 for the month, up 0.8 points from February and better than the Dow Jones consensus forecast for 87.5. The expectations index nudged lower to 70.9, while the present situation index improved to 123.3, up 4.6 points.

Labor market views worsened, with 15.4% expecting more jobs and 27.9% anticipating fewer positions, compared to respective readings of 16% and 26.2% in February.

In other jobs news, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 6.88 million employment openings in February, down 358,000 from the prior month though slightly above the FactSet estimate for 6.84 million.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey also showed hiring slumped by nearly half a million to 4.85 million during a month when nonfarm payrolls declined by 92,000.

— Jeff Cox

The stock market rally Tuesday was broad based, with 441 gainers in the S&P 500.

Ten out of 11 S&P 500 sectors were higher, with consumer discretionary, communication services and information technology the leading sectors. Utilities was the sole laggard.

Lumentum Holdings, a maker of optical and photonic products critical in AI infrastructure, was the leading advancer in the S&P 500. It was last higher by more than 6%.

— Sarah Min

Stock opened higher Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 539 points, or 1.2%. The S&P 500 moved up 1.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.3%.

— Sarah Min

Warren Buffett said he sold Apple too soon and would buy more of it, though not in the current market.

"It's not impossible that Apple would get to a price, we would buy a lot of it," Buffett told CNBC's Becky Quick in an interview Tuesday on "Squawk Box." "But not in this market."

— Sarah Min

Aluminum closed in on prices not seen since 2022 following Iranian attacks on two Middle Eastern producers over the weekend, heightening fears of a supply crisis for the industry. 

Futures prices on the London Metal Exchange initially jumped 5.5% on Monday to briefly touch $3,492 per tonne, a price last seen in April 2022.

It pulled back slightly by Monday afternoon to land 3.5% higher at $3,381 per tonne. Aluminum has risen around 10% since the conflict began on Feb. 28, though it fell briefly last week alongside most other asset classes amid fears of a global recession.

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) and Aluminium Bahrain, two of the Gulf's largest producers, came under fire from Iranian drones and missiles on Saturday. Read more.

— Joseph Wilkins

Marvell Technology rose more than 11% in Tuesday premarket trading after the company announced chip giant Nvidia was investing $2 billion in the company.

The investment comes as part of a strategic partnership to connect Marvell to Nvidia's AI factory and radio access network. They'll also work together on silicon photonics technology.

Shares of Nvidia were near their premarket highs after the announcement, up 1.4%.

— Davis Giangiulio and Samantha Subin

Oil prices saw volatility on Tuesday as the Iran war moved further into its fifth week.

Brent crude futures were last up around 4% to trade at $117.48 per barrel, as of 8:12 a.m. ET, while West Texas Intermediate futures climbed nearly 1% to trade at $103.70 per barrel.

— Anniek Bao and Sean Conlon

Warren Buffett is bringing back his famed charity lunch — this time with a high-profile twist.

The 95-year-old Berkshire Hathaway chairman will be joined by Stephen Curry, a four-time NBA champion and two-time MVP, along with author and lifestyle entrepreneur Ayesha Curry, for a new fundraising auction that pairs investing icon with celebrity appeal.

"Over the years, I've seen how the business community and innovative nonprofits can work together to create real change, and I've always believed in supporting organizations that are making a meaningful difference," Buffett said in a statement. "This event is about coming together again — in a new way — with people I admire, to support work that truly matters. Partnering with Stephen and Ayesha to help launch something new in support of these communities is something I'm very happy to be part of." Read more.

— Yun Li

A broker for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to make a large investment in major defense companies in the lead up to the Iran war, according to the Financial Times. The Pentagon has dismissed the report.

The Financial Times reported Tuesday that Hegseth's broker at banking giant Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February about making a multimillion-dollar investment in its iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF.

The ETF, which has about $3.1 billion in assets, counts companies such as RTX — formerly known as Raytheon — Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman among its largest holdings, BlackRock data showed.

The Defense Industrials Active ETF has lost 12.4% over the past month, around the time the war in Iran started, according to LSEG data. Read more.

— Lim Hui Jie

Check out the companies making the biggest moves premarket:

• McCormick — Shares rose more than 3% after Unilever confirmed it was in talks with the spices maker over a potential transaction to merge Unilever Foods with McCormick. If a deal were to take place, the Unilever news release said, it would involve "an upfront cash component of approximately US$15.7 billion and the majority of the consideration in McCormick equity. Upon completion of the transaction, it is expected that Unilever and its shareholders would hold 65% of the combined company."
• Diageo — The spirits giant climbed nearly 3% after an upgrade to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank. The bank said "structural and cyclical headwinds" such as weakness in alcohol sales are already priced into the stock.

Check out the full list here.

— Fred Imbert

U.S. gasoline prices have surged above $4 per gallon for the first time in more than three years, as the oil supply shock triggered by the Middle East war rapidly drives up costs for families.

Prices at the pump hit a nationwide average of $4.018, the highest level since August 2022 when Russia's war against Ukraine shook energy markets, the travel association AAA said. Gas prices have soared more than 30% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February, according to AAA data.

Read more here.

— Spencer Kimball

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Tuesday, with oil prices reversing course to fall after a report said that U.S. President Donald Trump was looking to avoid a prolonged conflict in the Middle East.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday evening stateside that Trump told aides he was willing to end the U.S. military hostilities against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remained closed.

Asian equity markets pared early losses, with some reversing into positive territory on the news.

South Korea's blue-chip Kospi led losses in Asia, dropping 1.86% while the small-cap Kosdaq lost more than 2%. The indexes had about 4% and 3%, respectively, earlier in the day.

Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 0.13%, while the broad-based Topix reversed earlier losses to trade 0.11% higher. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.86%, also reversing losses.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index was down 0.15%, while the mainland Chinese CSI 300 was 0.14% higher.

— Lim Hui Jie

The information technology sector flashed a warning signal for investors at the conclusion of Monday's trading.

The sector, whose constituents include Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, ended the day down more than 1%.

The tech sector's 50-day moving average also slid below its 200-day moving average, a sign that a downward trend may be emerging for this corner of the market.

As March draws to a close, the tech sector is on pace for its fifth consecutive losing month – its longest run of monthly losses since September 2002.

— Darla Mercado and Nick Wells

Eight of the 11 GICS sectors rose on Monday.

The financial sector led the day's gains with a 1.1% rise, followed by utilities, up 0.7%.

On the other hand, industrials, information technology and energy stocks were the day's laggards. The sectors respectively dropped about 1.6%, 1.5% and 0.9%.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stock futures tied to all three major indexes opened little changed on Monday night.

— Lisa Kailai Han