US stocks end higher, Dow adds 300 points

US stocks closed the first session of the week higher, driven by investor optimism over a possible ultimate peace deal between US and Iran, as the latest round of negotiations stalled.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.63%, or 301 points, to 48,218, after falling to 47,505 earlier in the session.

The broader S&P 500 gained 1%, or 69 points, to 6,886, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.23%, or 280 points, to 23,183.

Wall Street also drew additional support from technology positive performance, particularly software companies, with Oracle shares jumping 12.69% to $155.62 and Palantir rising 3.37% to $132.37.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.16% to 613 points, weighed by negative performance across most sectors.

Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.17% to 10,582 points, Germany’s DAX lost 0.26% to 23,742 points, and France’s CAC 40 declined 0.29% to 8,235 points.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.74% to 56,502 points, while the broader Topix index dropped 0.45% to 3,723 points.

In oil, front-month Brent crude futures for June delivery rose 4.37%, or $4.16, to $99.36 a barrel, after touching $103.87 a barrel during the session.

U.S. Nymex crude futures for May delivery also climbed 2.60%, or $2.51, to $99.08.

As for gold, June futures for the yellow metal fell 0.42%, or $20, to $4,767.40 an ounce.

Investor optimism renewed after President Trump said Iran showed a strong willingness to reach an agreement, following the collapse of the latest round of negotiations. This came despite the US maritime blockade imposed on Iranian vessels.