Stocks closed higher Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ripped 1,325.46 points higher, or 2.85%, to 47,909.92. That was the benchmark's best day since April 2025, when Trump first backed down from the severity of his initial tariff announcement.

The S&P 500 popped 2.51% to 6,782.81, and the Nasdaq Composite surged 2.80% to 22,635.00.

— Sarah Min

Stocks pulled back somewhat off the highs of the session heading into the final hour of trading, after Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the U.S. has already violated the two-week ceasefire agreement.

Shortly into the three o'clock hour, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher by 1,147 points, or 2.5%. The S&P 500 rose 2.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.5%.

— Sarah Min

The S&P Industrials sector was up 3.5% in midday Wednesday trading, the best performing sector on the broad index.

It was the sector's best performance since April 9, when the group surged 8.97% after President Donald Trump backed off his initial "liberation day" tariff threats.

Leading the way in the group United Airlines, surging more than 9.5%. Also driving the performance were HVAC provider Comfort Systems and GE Aerospace, both up 7%.

— Davis Giangiulio

Carnival jumped 10% after Iran partially opened the Strait of Hormuz as part of a two-week ceasefire deal with the U.S. Though the cruise line posted strong first-quarter earnings, travel concerns and rising oil prices related to the war in the Middle East caused the stock to plunge. From the start of the war to the ceasefire announcement, Carnival fell by 20%.

The stock is down 8% year to date.

— Itzel Franco

Levi Strauss is in the early innings of a favorable denim cycle driven by younger, fashion-forward consumers, TD Cowen said in a note Wednesday.

The denim maker reported a first-quarter beat on both the top and bottom lines after the bell Tuesday, sending shares 11% higher.

TD Cowen analyst Oliver Chen called the Levi's U.S. wholesale and direct-to-consumer trends encouraging.

"We like Levi's premium denim share leadership (16 consecutive quarters of positive DTC comps), focus on working capital discipline and unified product lines, and continued product and lifestyle innovation," he wrote in a note to clients. "Meanwhile, we see incremental opportunity from increasing inventory efficiency, markdown optimization, and deeper loyalty-driven personalization to lift in-store conversion and units per transaction.

In addition, valuation remains compelling at 12x full-year price-to-earnings, versus its 13x three-year average, he noted.

Chen maintained his pay rating on the stock, as well as his $25 price target, which suggests nearly 32% upside from Tuesday's close.

— Michelle Fox

On Wednesday, 13 stocks in the S&P 500 reached new all-time highs.

Tickers that hit this milestone included:

• Ross Stores trading at all-time high levels since its IPO in August 1985
• Comfort Systems trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in June 1997
• GE Vernova trading at all-time highs back to its spin-off from GE in April 2024
• Westinghouse Air Brake Tech trading at all-time highs back to the merger of Westinghouse Air Brake Co and MotivePower Industries in 1999
• Dell Technologies trading at all-time highs back to its relisting in December 2018
• Jabil trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in April 1993
• Keysight Technologies trading at all-time highs back to its spin-off from Agilent in November 2014
• Monolithic Power Systems trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in November 2004
• SanDisk trading at all-time highs back to its completed separation from Western Digital in February 2024
• Seagate trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in December 2002
• Teradyne trading at all-time highs back to when it listed on the NYSE in 1970 
• Western Digital trading at all-time highs back to its listing on the NASDAQ in June 2012
• Equinix trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in August 2000

— Lisa Kailai Han and Christopher Hayes

Traders are entertaining the possibility of an interest rate cut by the end of the year now that the U.S. and Iran have agreed to a cease fire.

Odds for a reduction jumped Wednesday morning, hitting about 43%, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, which uses 30-day fed funds futures contracts to compute market expectations for moves by the Federal Reserve.

— Jeff Cox

Small caps rallied in midday trading, with the Russell 2000 higher by more than 3.2%.

The small cap benchmark burst out of the gates to start the year, but has since floundered following the start of the U.S.-Iran war given its greater exposure to cyclical sectors. It was the first of the major U.S. benchmarks to fall into a correction, quickly followed by the Nasdaq Composite and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It has since recouped some of its losses, last roughly 4% off its recent high.

The Russell 2000 remains higher this year by more than 5%, while the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 are negative.

— Sarah Min

Ed Yardeni believes the two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran confirms his call from last week that the bottom for equities is in. That doesn't mean markets are out of the clear yet.

In a Wednesday note, the president of Yardeni Research said that he was lowering the chance of a U.S. recession back to 20% from 35%, a move he signaled last week. Recent data confirmed that the economy was strong heading into the war, he said.

But while the ceasefire is welcome to investors, he warned that markets will likely still be responsive to headline risk.

"A two-week pause is not a resolution," he wrote. "Financial markets will remain sensitive to any breakdown in talks."

— Davis Giangiulio

South Korea stocks rallied in midday trading, with the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) higher by more than 8% following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

South Korea's stock market was among the hardest hit following the onset of the war in Iran. In early March, the country's benchmark Kospi Index posted its worst-ever single day of trading given the country's high reliance on energy imports.

— Sarah Min

The two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran raises hope for fragile peace, but there are still several risks involved, Evercore ISI said in a note Wednesday.

Issues like ballistic missiles, sanctions relief and regional proxies all remain extremely difficult to resolve, said Sarah Bianchi, the firm's chief strategist of international political affairs and public policy.

"[W]e judge it as more likely than not that the two-week ceasefire is extended for a period of weeks to months — either because there does start to be some progress towards a limited/partial deal centered on nuclear and sanctions, or because Trump chooses to just declare victory and walk away," she wrote.

Bianchi likened it to the U.S.-China trade war last year, which has led to a detente that remains fragile and many issues unresolved.

"This sort of outcome is probably the best that can be hoped for in the Iran context as well," she said.

The real challenge may come down the line when the U.S. or Israel get intelligence indicating that Iran is reconstituting its military capabilities in a way that poses a threat, she added.

— Michelle Fox

The CBOE Volatility Index, which tracks expectations for S&P 500 forward volatility over the next 30 days based on index options prices, tumbled to 20.4 on Wednesday, showing increased bets that the market will calm down over the next month.

Since the start of the Iran war, the VIX, often thought of as Wall Street's indicator of fear in the market, peaked on March 27, when it reached an intraday high of 31.65 and closed at 31.05. The VIX closed at 19.86 on the last trading day before the war began.

— Scott Schnipper

Morgan Stanley is expected to launch the first U.S. bank-issued bitcoin ETF on the NYSE Arca on Wednesday.

The fund, called the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust, will trade under the ticker MSBT and carry a fee of 0.14%, undercutting competitors like BlackRock's popular iShares Bitcoin Trust, which charges 0.25%.

Morgan Stanley serves about 15,000 advisors and manages roughly $2 trillion in assets. The fund gives it a chance to recommend its own bitcoin ETF to clients rather than competitors like IBIT (which now holds nearly 4% of the total bitcoin supply) or the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund — thereby keeping fee revenue within the firm.

Spot bitcoin ETFs hit the U.S. market in 2024 and famously became one of the most successful product launches in Wall Street history. Since then, the 11 funds have collectively pulled in about $88 billion. Investors will be watching to see if MSBT can gain share from rival funds or draw fresh capital into the market.

The launch comes as bitcoin remains more than 40% off its October record.

— Tanaya Macheel

Stocks opened higher Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,351.44 points, or nearly 3%. The S&P 500 rallied 2.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 3.5%.

— Sarah Min

Clean Harbors has upside momentum as greater U.S. chemical production could boost its end-to-end hazardous waste management business, according to Citi.

The bank upgraded its rating on the stock to buy from neutral, and hiked its price target to $346, which indicates a nearly 16% gain from Tuesday's close. Citi is betting that U.S. chemical production will rise to make up for the lost production from the Middle East due to the U.S.-Iran war. 

"Accordingly, we see potential upside to CLH's guidance for Environmental Services. CLH derives 14% of revenue from US chemicals production, including 29% of Technical Services, the highest margin segment," Citi wrote in a Wednesday note. "While we recognize potential pushback on valuation following recent outperformance, shares haven't participated in historic gains by US chemicals stocks over the last 6 weeks, potentially CLH's highest value customers."

Clean Harbors shares were up 3% in premarket trading. 

— Davis Giangiulio

TD Cowen upgraded Freshpet to a buy from hold on Wednesday, saying retail sales growth is better than expected and competitive sales threats are perhaps overdone.

Shares jumped more than 5% in premarket trading.

The upgrade reflects "the better-than-expected YTD retail sales growth of 13% compared to 2026 guidance +7-10% and our view that concerns about increased competition from Costco's new private label entry and Farmer's Dog expansion on Walmart.com will prove overdone," TD Cowen analyst Robert Moskow said in a note. "We believe Freshpet has sufficient scale and competitive advantages to withstand threats like these."

The firm has an $80 price target on the stock, implying about 27% upside potential from its closing price Tuesday.

—Tanaya Macheel

JPMorgan lowered its 2026 earnings estimate for Royal Caribbean on Wednesday to $16.62 per share and cut its price target to $341 per share from $376.

The new target implies 27% upside from Tuesday's close.

Analyst Matthew Boss, who maintained his overweight rating on the stock, based the earnings estimate on full-year net yield growth of 2.5% constant-currency, net cruise costs excluding fuel per available passenger cruise day constant-currency growth of 0.8% and fuel expenses of $1.44 billion.

The new 2026 EPS estimate "now reflects the geopolitical trifecta of headwinds," including "increased US consumer hesitancy over the last 3-4 weeks to convert on bookings in eastern Europe … during the Summer as a result of the Middle East conflict (& associated 'CNN effect' across headlines) weighing on 2Q/3Q net yields," Boss wrote in a note to clients.

He also noted an incremental fuel headwind of $270 million and a $30 million to $40 million headwind to the cruise operator's equity investment income as some ships remain dislocated in the Gulf region.

Shares of Royal Caribbean, which have tumbled as the U.S.-Iran war drove up oil prices, rose 8% in premarket trading after the U.S.-Iran ceasefire was announced late Tuesday.

— Michelle Fox

Check out the companies making the biggest moves premarket:

Delta Air Lines — Shares traded 12% higher, boosted by the steep declines in oil prices after the U.S. agreed to a ceasefire. The airline also posted better-than-expected results for the first quarter, though it issued second-quarter guidance that was below analyst estimates.

Levi Strauss — The apparel company surged more than 9% after it reported a revenue and earnings beat for the first quarter. Direct-to-consumer sales for the first time made up half of revenue at Levi, the company said. It also raised its full-year earnings guidance.

Energy stocks — A slew of companies traded lower as oil prices sunk below $100 per barrel after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that included the temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. APA shed more than 9%. Occidental Petroleum and Diamondback Energy fell about 7%. Exxon Mobil declined more than 5.5%, while Chevron was off nearly 4.5%.

Read here for the full list.

— Davis Giangiulio

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. will work closely with Iran to remove nuclear material from the country, in addition to discussing tariff and sanctions relief for Iran.

The United States will work closely with Iran, which we have determined has gone through what will be a very productive Regime Change! There will be no enrichment of Uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear "Dust." It is now, and has been, under very exacting Satellite Surveillance (Space Force!)," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

"Nothing has been touched from the date of attack. We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran. Many of the 15 points have already been been agreed to," he added.

Stock futures added to their gains following the post, with Dow Jones Industrial Average futures surging 1,300 points.

— Sarah Min

Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday the Iran accord may not be as strong as it seems, noting that while Iran's foreign minister responded well to the ceasefire, others in the country had been "lying" about the deal.

"This is why I say this is a fragile truce," he said. "You have people who clearly want to come to the negotiating table and work with us to find a good deal, and then you have people who are lying about even the fragile truce that we've already struck."

— Fred Imbert

Delta Air Lines traded 12% higher, boosted by the steep declines in oil prices after the U.S. agreed to a ceasefire. The airline also posted better-than-expected results for the first quarter, though it issued second-quarter guidance that was below analyst estimates.

— Fred Imbert

Crypto names were among the biggest gainers in early morning trading following the news of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

Circle and Galaxy Digital advanced more than 7% premarket, along with crypto treasury firms Strategy and Bitmine Immersion Technologies. Robinhood rose 8% and Coinbase gained 5%.

Bitcoin jumped 4% to over $71,000, while ether rallied nearly 7% to about $2,200, according to Coin Metrics. Bitcoin experienced a short squeeze in the past 12 hours, resulting in over $140 million in forced liquidations of bearish positions, according to CoinGlass. The rise in ether flushed out $64 million in short bets in the same period.

Crypto and crypto stocks are leveraged expressions of macro risk sentiment, often exhibiting outsized moves relative to the broader market. Thin liquidity and forced liquidations amplify those moves even further.

— Tanaya Macheel

European markets surged on Wednesday after the U.S. and Iran reached a conditional ceasefire agreement.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 advanced almost 4% in early dealmaking, with all sectors except for oil and gas in positive territory. Regional bourses also moved higher, with Germany's DAX leading the way with a 4.8% gain.

The region's airlines and travel stocks made some of the biggest gains on Wednesday morning, with Lufthansa and EasyJet each rising more than 10%, while Tui rose more than 11% in early dealmaking.

Asia markets surged Wednesday after investor sentiment improved when President Donald Trump said he was suspending attacks on Iran for two weeks.

The two-week ceasefire was subject to Iran agreeing to a complete, immediate and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said.

South Korea's Kospi surged almost 7% to close at 5,872.34 while the small-cap Kosdaq was up 5.12%, ending the trading day at 1,089.85.

Japan's Nikkei 225 widened gains to 5.39%, closing at 56,308.42, while the Topix rose 3.32% to 3,775.3.

China's CSI 300 ended the Wednesday session 3.49% higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index last traded up 2.95% at 3:05 a.m. ET, after resuming trading following a holiday. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 2.55% to 8,951.8.

India's Nifty 50 was up 3.65%.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for May delivery was down 14.75% to $96.28 per barrel as of 3:15 a.m. ET. International benchmark Brent for June delivery lost more than 13.4% to $94.66 per barrel.

— Justina Lee

Asia markets rallied Wednesday, after President Donald Trump said he was suspending Iran attacks for two weeks.

Trump noted the 2-week ceasefire was subject to Iran agreeing to a complete, immediate and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

South Korea's Kospi led gains, surging 5.8%, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 4.1%. Kospi heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix jumped 7.12% and 9.61%, respectively.

Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced 4.95%, while the Topix rose 3.1%.

Mainland China's CSI 300 gained 1.95%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 2.56% as trading resumed following holiday.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 2.7%.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for May delivery was down 14% to $97.04 per barrel as of 10 p.m. ET. International benchmark Brent for June delivery lost more than 13.2% to $94.80 per barrel.

— Justina Lee

The price of U.S. oil took a dive Tuesday night after President Donald Trump agreed to suspend attacks on Iran for two weeks.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May delivery were last down more than 12%, trading at $98.79 at 6:57 p.m. ET.

Trump made his eleventh-hour announcement in a Truth Social post. He said that the suspension of the bombing is "subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz."

Trump also added that "This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE!"

Earlier Tuesday, Trump had threatened to strike bridges and power plants in Iran if the Middle Eastern nation's leaders did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. ET.

Since the start of the Iran war, U.S. crude oil futures have surged 47%.

Read more on oil from CNBC's Spencer Kimball here.

—Darla Mercado

President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on Tuesday that he agreed to suspend attacks against Iran for two weeks, following conversations with Pakistani officials.

"The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East. We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate," Trump wrote in the post.

Stock futures jumped following the announcement, with traders hoping an agreement — or a delay — would take place ahead of the 8 p.m. ET deadline set by Trump.

— Fred Imbert

Shares of Levi Strauss jumped on Tuesday night after the denim maker posted a first-quarter earnings and revenue beat.

In its last quarter, Levi Strauss earned an adjusted 42 cents per share, higher than the 37 cents analysts polled by LSEG had expected. The company's $1.74 billion revenue also beat the estimated $1.65 billion.

Shares were last trading 5% higher.

The company also raised its guidance. Levi Strauss now expects its full-year adjusted earnings to come in between $1.42 and $1.48 per share.

— Lisa Kailai Han and Gabrielle Fonrouge

Stock futures rose on Tuesday night just hours before President Donald Trump's 8 p.m. ET deadline to strike a deal with Iran.

S&P 500 futures added 0.7% shortly after 6 p.m. ET, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.8%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 327 points, or 0.70%.

— Lisa Kailai Han