-- US benchmark equity indexes advanced intraday, while oil prices slumped after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz "completely open" following a ceasefire deal between Lebanon and Israel.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.9% at 49,507.9 after midday Friday. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.4% to 24,447.8, while the S&P 500 rose 1.2% to 7,126.6. The two indexes notched their second consecutive record-high closes in the previous session.
Barring energy and utilities, all sectors were in the green intraday Friday, led by consumer discretionary's 2.7% jump.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil sank 11% to $84.20 a barrel, while Brent lost 9% to $90.44.
"In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire," Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Friday in a post on the X platform.
Vessels must move through a "coordinated route" announced by Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization, Araghchi said.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump said Lebanon and Israel agreed to a 10-day ceasefire that seeks to pause hostilities between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. That was a key sticking point in peace negotiations between the US and Iran.
Trump welcomed the reopening of the strait, though he said on Truth Social that the US naval blockade of Iran's ports will continue until "our transaction with Iran is 100% complete."
"The news that Iran will allow traffic to resume through the Strait of Hormuz could be an important turning point and the catalyst for upgrades to our economic forecasts, but not immediately," Oxford Economics said in a note. "The development increases the risk that a more lasting deal could be brokered, reducing the likelihood of extreme downside scenarios crystalizing."
A quarter-long closure of the strait will likely push US inflation higher by 0.6 percentage point this year, researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said in an article Friday.
Shares of cruise line operators and airlines surged intraday, with Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) up 8.2%, the best performer on the S&P 500, followed by Carnival's (CCL) 7.8% gain. United Airlines (UAL) jumped 7.6%, while Southwest Airlines (LUV) climbed 6.5%, among the top gainers on the index.
US Treasury yields were lower intraday, with the 10-year rate down 6.3 basis points at 4.25% and the two-year rate dropping 7.8 basis point to 3.69%.
In company news, Netflix (NFLX) shares were down 10% intraday, the second-worst performer on the S&P 500.
The streaming giant late Thursday posted first-quarter revenue above Wall Street's estimates. However, the company disappointed investors by maintaining its margin outlook even though its cost base apparently would have benefited from its decision to walk away from a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), MoffettNathanson said in a note Friday.
Gold was up 1.5% at $4,881.40 per troy ounce, while silver gained 3.8% to $81.71 per ounce.