Traders at the New York Stock Exchange [Yonhap News Agency file photo]

Global stock markets rallied across the board on the 6th (local time), and bond yields fell (bond prices rose) amid growing expectations that a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran is imminent.

The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil fell below $100 per barrel on expectations of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

On the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 49,910.59, up 612.34 points (1.24%) from the previous trading day.

The S&P 500 index closed at 7,365.10, up 105.88 points (1.46%) from the previous trading day, and the Nasdaq Composite index, led by tech stocks, closed at 25,838.94, up 512.82 points (2.02%) from the previous trading day.

With today's gains, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices once again renewed their all-time highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average temporarily recovered the 50,000 mark during intraday trading for the first time since February 12.

Optimism about the earnings of U.S. companies, coupled with growing expectations for an end to the U.S.-Iran war, boosted investor sentiment.

According to U.S. media reports such as CNN and Axios, the U.S. and Iran are discussing the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to end the war.

It has been reported that this would include Iran's temporary suspension of nuclear enrichment, the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Iran, and the gradual lifting of Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. maritime blockade on Iran.

In an interview with PBS Newshour, a U.S. public broadcaster, President Trump said, when asked if an agreement with Iran was imminent, "I think there is a very high probability that we will reach an agreement," adding that an agreement with Iran could be reached before his upcoming visit to China (14th-15th).

Earlier, President Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social the previous day that significant progress had been made in negotiations with Iran and that the "Project Freedom" to help merchant ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz escape would be temporarily suspended.

Semiconductor manufacturer AMD surged 18.6% on the day, driven by better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and an upward revision of its earnings outlook, fueled by investments in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

European stock markets also showed strong gains across the board.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index closed at 6,017.55, up 2.52% from the previous trading day, while the French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index rose 2.94% and 2.12%, respectively. The UK FTSE 100 index rose 2.15%.

Bond yields fell as inflation concerns eased.

On the electronic trading platform TradeWeb, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds was 4.35% near the close of the New York Stock Exchange, down 0.07 percentage points from the previous trading day.

The yield on 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds was 4.94% at the same time, down 0.04 percentage points from the previous trading day.

International oil prices plummeted on expectations of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The closing price of Brent crude oil futures was $101.27 per barrel, down 7.83% from the previous trading day, and the closing price of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures was $95.08 per barrel, down 7.03% from the previous trading day.

With today's decline, WTI prices fell back below $100 per barrel for the first time since April 28.

International gold prices rose.

According to Reuters, spot gold prices were trading at $4,685.23 per ounce at around 2:10 p.m. New York time, up 2.8% from the previous trading day.