Wall Street Welcomes End of Hostilities as Iran and Trump Claim Victory

Barry Adams
16 Jun, 2026
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street lacked direction in Tuesday's trading following a surge in the previous session. 

The S&P 500 index decreased 0.02%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged higher 0.03%. 

Cautious optimism prevailed in New York as investors awaited the details of a possible peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran. 

The U.S. and Israel launched a war on Iran hoping to achieve a regime change, destroy Iran's military capabilities, and force the Islamic republic to end its nuclear program. 

None of these objectives set out by the U.S. president have been achieved, and despite severe degradation of Iran's military hardware and damage to its fragile economy, Tehran's leaders have proven to be resilient. 

Both the U.S. and Iran have offered often conflicting and contradictory explanations of the proposed peace agreement, which is likely to be signed as early as Sunday in Switzerland.

The deeply unpopular war has managed to hike fuel prices at home, disrupted global supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, and left Iran with greater leverage in future conflicts with Israel and the U.S.

Trump, who once demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender," is now ready to sign a peace deal with the regime that is even more hardline than the previous government.

With Iran's nuclear capabilities largely intact, the Islamic regime is likely to accelerate its pursuit of atomic weapons, as Israel pursues its "Greater Israel" plan to confiscate more territory from Lebanon and push the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain into accepting its air defense systems. 

In Monday's stock trading, the S&P 500 index soared 1.7% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 3% as investors held out for the resumption of commercial shipments through the Strait of Hormuz as early as next month. 

West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices decreased 3% to $78.68 a barrel, and the international Brent crude oil prices dropped 2.5% to $81.15 a barrel. 

In Tuesday's trading, benchmark indexes in Asia lacked momentum, and the Nikkei 225 touched a new record intraday high after the Bank of Japan raised its short-term rates to 1%, the highest since September 1995. 

European markets extended the previous session's gains, and benchmark indexes in France, Germany, Italy, and the U.K. jumped around 0.7%.

 

U.S. Movers 

SpaceX jumped 8.1% to $210.09 following a surge of 19% on Friday and Monday, as retail investors continued to bid for the defense and AI company, overlooking the lack of near-term profit visibility. 

Dave & Buster's Entertainment plunged 15% to $10.47, extending this year's losses to over 45% after the company's revenue and comparable store sales fell short of estimates. 

Revenue in the fiscal first quarter ending on May decreased 1.5% to $559.2 million; net income plunged to $5.7 million from $21.7 million, and diluted earnings per share declined to 16 cents from 62 cents a year ago. 

Comparable store sales decreased 5.4%, but the CEO Tarun Lal held out for "positive comps for the remainder of the year" and "generating free cash flow over $100 million in fiscal 2026." 

The company is operating under a heavy debt load and managed to return to profitability in its latest quarter after declaring losses in the previous two consecutive quarters.