US stocks gained on Wednesday following a powerful rally across Wall Street to wrap up the first quarter, while investors weighed remarks from Trump indicating he may be winding down hostilities against Iran.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained 1.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) climbed 0.9%.

The market-shifting moves were fueled by reports suggesting a potential diplomatic off-ramp in the Iran conflict. According to comments made to state media, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is open to deescalation under certain conditions, stating Iran has "the necessary will to end this war."

Comments from the White House also indicated a shift in US posture. Trump has discussed ending the war even if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, stating the war won't last "much longer" and that US involvement could end "within two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three."

Trump will deliver an update about the war in Iran in a speech to the nation on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.

Oil futures fell as stocks rose. Brent crude (BZ=F) traded down by more than 1.2% to trade near $103 per barrel after steeper losses earlier in the session, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude (CL=F) dropped to trade below $100 per barrel before rebounding above that line.

On the economic data front, ADP reported that private employers added 62,000 jobs in March while US retail sales rose by 0.6% month over month, both exceeding expectations. Investors will also get the latest reading on manufacturing activity from the Institute for Supply Management.

Elon Musk's SpaceX has confidentially filed for an IPO, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, with the company reportedly seeking a valuation of more than $1.75 trillion. The filing comes ahead of AI developers OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) and Anthropic (ANTH.PVT), both of whom are reported to be working toward potential 2026 IPOs.

Our Pras Subramanian reports:

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I was skeptical of Tuesday’s monster bounce, which looked a lot like quarter-end short covering after a bruising March. Today’s follow-through makes that move look less like a one-off squeeze.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC), Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) are building on that move.

Meanwhile, industrials (XLI), tech (XLK), consumer discretionary (XLY), transports (^DJT, IYT), aerospace & defense (ITA), and semiconductors (^SOX, SOXX) are all posting some of their biggest two-day jumps since last April or May.

Broad cyclical participation gives the rebound more credibility.

But now comes the real test. The S&P 500 is now only about 1% away from a huge technical hurdle. Its 200-day moving average is overhead near 6,640, and just beyond that is the 50% retracement of the full drop from the late-January all-time high.

That 6640 to 6660 zone could entice shorts to reload.

Boeing (BA) stock gained 4% on Wednesday, helping to lift the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) by about 400 points.

The aerospace and defense company announced it agreed to a seven-year framework deal with the Department of Defense to triple production of its PAC-3 seekers, key components in the US's missile defense architecture.

Boeing said Lockheed Martin (LMT) will also ramp up production this year, and the companies will negotiate toward a multiyear contract award later this year. Lockheed Martin stock rose 1.3%.

While Boeing did not disclose the size of such a contract, it has invested more than $200 million since 2024 to expand PAC-3 seeker production capacity in Huntsville, Ala.

Investors may also be keying in on Boeing today ahead of the Artemis II launch, part of NASA's mission to transport humans back to the moon. A crew of four astronauts will board a Boeing-built rocket as early as 6:24 p.m. ET for a 10-day lunar flyby mission.

Stocks continued to power higher, extending Tuesday's rally, after President Trump said in a Truth Social post that Iran's regime "has just asked the United States for a CEASEFIRE!"

"We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear," Trump added. "Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!"

Trump's comments were the latest sign of an off-ramp to the hostilities in the region, which have rattled markets for more than a month. On Tuesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened to strike 18 US companies, including Intel (INTC), Oracle (ORCL), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), Meta (META), Palantir (PLTR), and Nvidia (NVDA).

Shares in Nike (NKE) fell 13% at the opening bell to reach their lowest intraday price since 2015 after the company released an outlook report that came in below analyst expectations.

Shares traded below the $46 mark as of 10:00 a.m. ET. The company's stock is now down 28% since Jan. 1.

During Nike's Tuesday earnings call, the global apparel giant forecast that revenue would decline 2% to 4% in the fiscal fourth quarter and continue dropping throughout the rest of 2026. Analysts had been expecting forecast revenue growth of 2% for this quarter and larger gains deeper into the year, according to Bloomberg.

The company attributed the miss to a 20% decline in China sales as well as other inventory and margin pressures.

"This quarter we took meaningful actions to improve the health and quality of our business," president and CEO Elliott Hill said. "The work is not finished, but the direction is clear, our teams are moving with focus and urgency, and our foundation is getting even stronger to build the future of NIKE."

Read more about Nike's quarter and outlook here.

US stocks moved further into the green on Wednesday following a rally on Tuesday to end the first quarter as investors digested signals from Washington and Tehran that the two nations may be willing to find an end to the war that has ravaged the markets.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) picked 0.6% to start the session, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively

In comments on Tuesday reported by regional media, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran has "the necessary will to end this war" under certain conditions. In Washington, President Trump said he sees US involvement wrapping up "within two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three."

Brent crude (BZ=F) lost roughly 1.2% to trade near $103 per barrel after deeper losses earlier in the session, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude (CL=F) dropped to trade below $100 per barrel before rebounding above that line

On the economic calendar, ADP data showed private employers added 62,000 jobs in March, and the US retail sales rose by 0.6% month over month, both exceeding expectations.

Oil prices pulled back Wednesday morning after a bevy of headlines suggesting Iran and the US may both be looking for an end to the war that has now dragged on into its fifth week.

Futures on Brent crude (BZ=F), the international pricing benchmark, shed roughly 2.2% to trade around $101.70 per barrel. Those on US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CL=F) turned down by a similar 2.1% to sit around $99.30 per barrel, pulling back below the key $100 level.

Kicking off the pullback in oil — and a matching surge in global equity markets — were comments from Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, first reported in regional media on Tuesday. On a call with the EU Council president, Pezeshkian said Iran has "the necessary will to end this war" but expects certain guarantees in exchange.

In Washington, President Trump said on Tuesday in comments to reporters that the US would end its involvement in the war in Iran "within two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three."

That said, analysts caution that while oil has pulled back, the risk premium embedded in current prices has not yet abated. President Trump has said the US may withdraw without resolving the conflict over the Strait of Hormuz, leaving control of the world's most critical energy chokepoint an open question.

In a Truth Social post on Wednesday morning, President Trump said any ceasefire negotiations are conditioned on a reopening of the strait.

"Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE! We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!" the president wrote.

An end to conflict will also not immediately fix the longer-term effects of infrastructure damage, wellhead shut-ins, insurance premiums, and other components of the war.

US retail sales rose 0.6% from the prior month in February, a jump after January showed a decline in sales and a rise that topped Wall Street forecasts.

Wall Street economists expected retail sales rose 0.5% last month, according to Bloomberg data. In the year's first month, sales fell 0.1%. Compared to a year ago, retail sales rose 3.7% in February.

Excluding autos, retail sales grew by 0.5% on the month, coming in hotter than the previous month's 0.0% reading and expectations of a 0.3% uptick. The same measure grew by 3.6% year-on-year.

Notably, gasoline sales dropped 0.7% year-on-year in the final month before the effects of the war in Iran will likely begin to show up in the data. The war began with US and Israeli airstrikes against Iran on Feb. 28.

Private payrolls fell slightly month over month in March but strongly outperformed expectations, according to a release from data provider ADP.

The private sector added 62,000 jobs in March, according to ADP, slightly below February's 66,000. Economists had been looking for 40,000 jobs added, roughly a third lower.

Goods-producing sectors added 30,000 jobs on the month, with strong gains in construction offsetting the 11,000-job loss in manufacturing.

Service-providing sectors added 32,000 jobs. A monthly loss of 58,000 jobs in the "trade/transportation/utilities" sectors was counterbalanced by an equal number of jobs gained in education and healthcare, alongside smaller adds in other sectors.

Year-on-year pay changes for people who stay at their jobs remained steady at a 4.5% increase for the third month in a row, while pay changes for job-changers rose to a 6.6% gain.

"Overall hiring is steady, but job growth continues to favor certain industries, including health care," Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said.

The bond market may be doing the Fed’s work for it, Yahoo Finance's Jennifer Schonberger writes.

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RH (RH) stock sank 19% before the bell on Wednesday after the luxury furniture retailer's earnings fell short of analysts' expectations.

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Nike stock fell 9% before the bell on Wednesday, despite beating analysts' estimates, the sportswear company said recovery efforts in China dragged on the quarter.

Yahoo Finance's senior reports Brooke DiPalma reports:

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Yahoo Finance's Ines Ferré reports:

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Yahoo Finance's Daniel Howley reports:

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