Wall Street indexes hit record highs as oil falls with Strait of Hormuz declared open

Wall Street indexes hit record highs as oil falls with Strait of Hormuz declared open

By Sinéad Carew and Niket Nishant

Fri April 17, 2026

With Iran’s announcement that the Strait of Hormuz would now be open and Trump’s announcement that a peace deal could be reached as early as this weekend (though not yet confirmed by Iran), the markets exploded for a third consecutive day of new record highs. Oil plunged 11% which pacified investors that the concern about oil blowing up inflation was diminishing.

Wall Street continues to bet on a quick end to the war with energy stocks taking a welcome hit and everything else booming. There remains considerable danger and uncertainty when tankers will begin moving again, especially since the strait is still mined and war insurance remains sky high. Netflix tumbled 9.7% after Q1 came in below forecast and with the announced departure of long-time CEO Reed Hastings. Volume was brisk finally coming in above the 19.1 average, closing today at 20.3 billion. 

DJ: 48,578.72  +115.00       NAS: 24,102.70  +86.69         S&P: 7,041.28  +18.33           4/16

DJ: 49,447.43  +868.71       NAS: 24,468.48  +365.78       S&P: 7,126.06  +84.78           4/17

Fri 4-17-26 5:35 pm Wall Street indexes hit record highs as oil falls with Strait of Hormuz declared open | Reuters