Dow Jumps 350 Points as Wall Street Closes Strong Week on Peace Hopes and SpaceX Rally

Wall Street closed out the week on a high note Friday, with all three major indexes posting gains as investors digested SpaceX's blockbuster Nasdaq debut alongside growing optimism over a potential US-Iran peace agreement. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to finish at 7,431.46, the Nasdaq Composite added 0.31% to close at 25,888.84, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 353.51 points, or 0.7%, to settle at 51,202.26. Goldman Sachs, Verizon, and JPMorgan led the Dow's gainers, climbing between 2.25% and 2.57%, while Nike, Apple, and Merck were among the session's laggards.

Friday's gains extended a powerful rebound that began Thursday, when the Dow surged nearly 930 points, or 1.86%, and the Nasdaq jumped 2.54% after President Trump signaled that planned new strikes on Iran were being called off in favor of a negotiated settlement. Crude oil prices, which had been a major source of market anxiety for weeks, fell roughly 2% to near $85 a barrel — still elevated but well off recent highs, and AAA reported that average US gasoline prices have fallen about 40 cents per gallon from a month ago.

Beneath the surface, the week's trading revealed some unusual cross-currents. Pawn shop operators EZCORP and FirstCash both saw their shares fall sharply even as gold pulled back about 24% from its January all-time high, a move analysts said should theoretically benefit companies whose collateral is largely gold-backed. Several analysts described the sell-off in those names as a potential buying opportunity, noting that pawn stocks have still outperformed gold for the year despite the recent volatility.

Bond markets moved modestly as well, with the 10-year Treasury yield ticking up about 1.8 basis points to 4.483%, while 20-year and 30-year yields hovered just below the psychologically important 5% threshold. The Cboe Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, fell 9% on the week, reflecting the broad improvement in investor sentiment. With major indexes still down for the month heading into Friday despite the rally, traders will be watching closely next week for confirmation of the US-Iran deal's signing, as well as any follow-through from the SpaceX listing on broader risk appetite.