By Caitlin McCabe
The U.S.'s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz took effect yesterday, following a weekend of failed talks between the U.S. and Iran. And yet investors barely flinched: The S&P 500 ended up rallying 1%.
In fact, the gain was enough to erase the last of the benchmark index's losses since the war began. The index now sits 0.1% above where it ended February-a marginal gain, to be sure, but one that would have seemed almost unthinkable just two weeks ago.
As we've flagged previously, a chunk of the S&P 500's snapback since its March 30 lows has been driven by short-bet covering from hedge funds that had positioned defensively. And yet rising stock prices are likely to beget more demand, strategists say.
"Investors are embracing any nugget of good news as they grow tired of uncertainty caused by the Iran crisis," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at British investment platform AJ Bell.
History also suggests that more gains could be ahead, according to Ryan Detrick, the chief market strategist at Carson Group.
He notes that it is rare for the S&P 500 to post a seven-day winning streak with cumulative gains of more than 7%-exactly what the index did off its March 30 lows.
But on the occasions that did happen previously, the S&P 500 went on to rise an average of 4.4% over the following month, he calculates:
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 14, 2026 08:15 ET (12:15 GMT)
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