Traders at the New York Stock Exchange [AFP=Yonhap News]

The three major U.S. stock indices closed sharply higher on the 15th (local time) following news that a peace agreement had been reached between the United States and Iran.

On this day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 51,671.03, up 468.77 points (0.92%) from the previous trading session. With this rise, the Dow index reached an all-time high.

The S&P 500 index rose 122.83 points (1.65%) to close at 7,554.29, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index finished at 26,683.94, up 795.10 points (3.07%).

It was reported that U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) electronically the previous day to announce the settlement of peace negotiations. The official signing ceremony is scheduled for the 19th in Geneva, Switzerland.

The sharp decline in international oil prices following the news of the deal helped support the stock market by easing concerns over rising inflation.

Brent crude futures fell 4.9% to $83.2 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures dropped 4.8% to $80.75 per barrel.

These declines brought both oil prices to their lowest levels in three months, since March 10, shortly after the start of the Iran war.

The day's rally was led by AI chip-related stocks that had recently undergone a correction.

Memory semiconductor manufacturer Micron surged 10.84%, while other memory sector stocks saw significant gains, including Western Digital (16.1%), SanDisk (6.45%), and Seagate (9.43%).

Nvidia, a leader in AI chips, rose 3.54%, and other major chip companies such as AMD (6.98%) and Lam Research (6.03%) also showed strength.

Conversely, energy companies such as ExxonMobil (-4.14%) and Chevron (-3.64%) traded lower due to the drop in oil prices.

U.S. Treasury yields showed little change. According to the electronic trading platform Tradeweb, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell 0.01 percentage points to 4.47% at the close of the New York stock market.

The 2-year Treasury yield, sensitive to monetary policy, fell 0.02 percentage points to 4.07% at the same time.

The market is now focused on the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, which will be held over two days, from the 16th to the 17th.

This is the first monetary policy meeting held since new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh took office, and investors are keenly watching to see what policy views he will present in his first press conference.

Given the rebound in inflation, the market anticipates that the Fed will either freeze or raise interest rates this year.

According to the CME Group's FedWatch, the interest rate futures market is pricing in a 41% probability that the Fed will hold rates at the current 3.50–3.75% range through December, and a 58% probability of at least one rate hike.

SpaceX, which went public on the 12th, surged 19.3% on its first day of trading, surpassing a $2 trillion market capitalization, and climbed another 19.6% to close higher on this day. The stock has risen 43% in its first two trading days. SpaceX is not yet included in the three major U.S. stock indices.