U.S. and European stock markets closed higher on Tuesday, April 14, amid optimistic expectations for a potential rapid new round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.66%, the S&P 500 index gained 1.18%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.96%, adding over 450 points to mark its tenth consecutive day of gains. Stock markets in Germany and France also climbed more than 1%.
Most major U.S. technology stocks posted gains, with an index tracking the seven leading U.S. tech giants rising 2.83%. Among individual stocks, Facebook surged over 4%, Amazon climbed nearly 4%, and Nvidia increased 3.78%, extending its winning streak to ten days and adding approximately $760 billion in market value. Google and Tesla both rose over 3%, Microsoft gained more than 2%, while Apple dipped 0.16%.
Semiconductor stocks continued their strong performance, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rising 2.04% to reach a new all-time high. Micron Technology jumped over 9%, closing at a record high, while Advanced Micro Devices advanced more than 3%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and ARM both rose over 2%, though Intel fell more than 2%. In a recent report, UBS suggested that the global DRAM market's supply-demand gap is expected to persist until the fourth quarter of 2027, signaling a rare super-cycle in memory not seen in nearly three decades.
Stimulated by Nvidia's release of the world's first open-source quantum artificial intelligence model, quantum computing stocks surged. SEALSQ rose 21.03%, IonQ gained 20.16%, and D-Wave Quantum climbed 15.84%.
Airline stocks collectively moved higher, with American Airlines rising over 8%, Delta Air Lines advancing nearly 7%, Southwest Airlines gaining more than 4%, and United Airlines increasing over 2%. Reports indicated that United Airlines' CEO is considering a potential merger with American Airlines.
Oracle climbed nearly 5%, while fuel-cell standout Bloom Energy surged 24% to a record high. Sources noted that Oracle plans to purchase up to 2.8 gigawatts of fuel cell systems from Bloom Energy to support the power needs of its AI data centers.
On the downside, energy stocks declined across the board. ExxonMobil fell over 2%, Chevron dropped more than 2%, ConocoPhillips declined nearly 4%, Schlumberger dipped 0.83%, and Occidental Petroleum retreated over 4%.
Chinese assets showed strength, with U.S.-listed Chinese stocks generally rising. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index increased 2.35%. Among popular Chinese ADRs, iQiyi Inc. surged over 11%, JD.com rose nearly 8%, Kingsoft Cloud climbed more than 6%, Baidu advanced over 5%, Ke Holdings gained more than 4%, while Alibaba and Bilibili both increased over 2%.
In commodities, international gold and silver prices rose sharply overnight, with spot gold surpassing $4,840 per ounce and spot silver climbing over 5%. In early trading on April 15, both metals adjusted slightly; as of 7:09 Beijing time, spot gold fell 0.06% to below $4,840, while spot silver dipped 0.05%.
International crude oil futures ended significantly lower, with WTI crude futures down 7.87% and Brent crude futures falling 4.6%. In early trading on April 15, WTI futures opened 1% higher, though gains moderated later.
Cryptocurrencies turned lower after earlier advances. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin fell nearly 1%, dropping below $76,000 to around $74,020 per coin. More than 160,000 traders globally faced liquidations.
Reports indicated that U.S. President Trump stated on the 14th that talks with Iran "could take place within the next two days" in Pakistan. Sources suggested Iran is considering suspending shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to avoid disrupting the negotiation process.
Amid a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, over 20 commercial vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours. While traffic remains below pre-conflict levels, signs of recovery are emerging along the critical shipping route.
Separately, Lebanon, Israel, and the United States held trilateral talks in Washington on the same day, agreeing to formally launch direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel at a mutually agreed time and location.
On the Federal Reserve front, both annual and monthly U.S. Producer Price Index figures for March came in well below market expectations. A Fed official suggested that if U.S. inflation remains elevated, interest rate cuts could be delayed beyond 2026. A White House economic adviser added that oil price increases are likely to reverse and that the Fed still has room to lower rates.
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