Global stocks powered ahead Wednesday, with U.S. and European markets supported by surging energy stocks, as investors reacted to President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from a multilateral nuclear treaty with Iran and the prospect of several months of rising crude prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 182 points, or 0.75%, to 24,542. The S&P 500 was up 0.97% while the Nasdaq gained 1%.
U.S. crude oil jumped 3% on Wednesday, settling at $71.14 a barrel.
Domestic oil producers and services were rising, with Transocean Litd (RIG) rising 5.5% and Actions Alerts PLUS holding Schlumberger NV (SLB) gaining 1.9%. Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) jumped 2.3% while rival Chevron Corp. (CVX) added 1.7%.
Watch what the Iran deal means to oil prices."We will be instituting the highest level of economic sanction," Trump said Tuesday in his White House address. "Any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons could also be strongly sanctioned by the United States."
"Today's action sends a critical message. The United States no longer makes empty threats. When I make promises, I keep them," Trump insisted.
Iran, the world's fifth-largest crude producer with daily output of 3.8 million barrels, is likely to lose customers for around 500,000 barrels of oil each day, analysts have argued, once the full force of the sanctions kick-in over the next six months.
Vodafone Plc (VOD) shares were also on the move, rising 0.84% after the world's second-largest wireless carrier agreed a $22 billion deal to buy several European media assets from John Malone's Liberty Global (LBTYA) .
Toyota Motor Co. (T) shares rose 4% after it unveiled plans to buy back around $2.7 billion worth of shares Wednesday after the world's biggest carmaker forecast a 15% decline in profits for the coming financial year thanks in part to a stronger yen and ongoing trade rift between Japan and the United States.
The cautious tone reflects investor concern that Trump's largely unilateral decision to walk away from the Iran treaty, which was designed in 2012 to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for broader international economic support, will not only disrupt global oil markets but also unsettle the Middle East region and complicate the President's efforts to negotiate workable trade deals and compromises with America's biggest trading partners.