Airline stocks soar on Iran opening Strait of Hormuz

The US made a breakthrough in peace talks with Iran on Friday, as the latter committed to reopening the Strait of Hormuz immediately. In response, Oil prices tanked, and US stock indices soared.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) jumped over 2%, while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite each added about 1.5% at last look.

No part of the equity market is performing better than US airline stocks, whose business model was directly dented by the soaring prices for jet fuel that resulted from the United States (US) and Israel’s war on Iran, which started nearly 50 days ago on February 28.

Ceasefire leads to breakthrough in peace talks

A number of headlines are swirling around simultaneously. First, US President Donald Trump said that Israel would be prohibited from further bombing of Lebanon, a day after his administration confirmed a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and its northern neighbor that took effect Thursday night.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a statement, “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, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organization of the Islamic Rep. of Iran.”

Iran says it will reopen the Strait of Hormuz for the remainder of the ceasefire talks, which began about 10 days ago. The US says it is working on a deal that would allow Iran to access $20 billion of its own frozen funds in exchange for giving up its highly-enriched uranium, particularly the uranium enriched to 60% purity or above. The US is asking for a 20-year moratorium on enrichment, while Iran countered with a five-year offer.

Airline stocks surge on Hormuz reopening

The news sent airline stocks to their highest level since March. United Airlines (UAL) spiked over 10%, while JetBlue Airlines (JBLU) and Southwest Airlines (LUV) each jumped more than 9%.

Travel-related stocks like Hilton (HLT) and Marriott (MAR) reached new all-time highs on the news.