Dow Jones ends at record closing high, oil falls amidst contradictory reports on Iran deal

US markets overcame an initial bout of volatility on Thursday, May 21 to end higher amidst contradictory reports of a possible deal between the US and Iran to end hostilities in West Asia and commence maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Dow Jones reversed early losses to end 270 points higher, and at a record closing high as well. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq, which were down between 0.5% to 1% earlier in the day, also reversed all their losses to end just above the flat line. Oil prices fell, treasuries eased.

Contradictory Deal Reports

Reports first emerged on Bloomberg, who quoted an Iranian state agency citing two officials that cracks between the US and Iran have eased but for a full agreement, the US will have to abandon plans of attacking Iran again.

Although the market did not react to the move, oil prices reversed gains of as much as 1.5%.

A few hours later, Reuters reported about orders of Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, stating that the Uranium of the country should remain within the country. The report invited pushback from White House officials, who called the report falls. However, oil prices had gained up to 3.5% by then. Al Jazeera later reported that no such directive has been issued.

Later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that there are “good signs” that a deal with Iran would be reached. No official statement from either side has been released so far.

Walmart Disappoints

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, announced its first quarter results that were a beat on street expectations, but the guidance it issued for the full year, disappointed the street.

The company expects full-year Earnings Per Share (EPS) to be between $2.75 to $2.85, lower than estimates of $2.91, while full year sales growth could be between 3.5% to 4.5%. The stock fell 8% on Thursday, keeping the Dow’s gains in check.

Quantum Computing Stocks Surge

Quantum Computing stocks soared up to 33% on Thursday after the National Institute of Standards and Technology announced that the US government will award $2 billion in grants to nine companies in this space.

IBM is said to be the biggest beneficiary of this with a $1 billion grant, leading to the stock seeing a 12% surge.

Shares of other smaller companies such as D-Wave, Rigetti and Infleqtion surged 33%, 30% and 31% respectively on Thursday.