* Indexes up: Dow 2.81%, S&P 500 2.36%, Nasdaq 2.81%
* Oil stocks tumble as crude prices slump to below $100 a
barrel
* Airlines, cruise operators rally on lower oil prices
* Levi Strauss gains after annual earnings forecast raise
(Updates after markets open)
By Purvi Agarwal and Avinash P
April 8 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes climbed
to near one-month highs on Wednesday after the U.S. and Iran
agreed to a two-week ceasefire, sending crude prices lower on
expectations that energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz
could resume.
The announcement came hours before U.S. President Donald
Trump's deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the
waterway that carries about one-fifth of global oil trade.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that the passage
could be opened on Thursday or Friday ahead of peace talks if
the countries agreed upon a framework for the ceasefire.
Global markets, which had been reeling under conflicting
signals for weeks, staged a rally, with stock bourses in Asia
and Europe rising, while crude prices slid below $100 a barrel.
"Whether these early 'risk-on' moves are sustainable or not
is another matter... If shipping starts to move through the
Strait of Hormuz again, and there's strong evidence that things
can return to pre-war normality, that will embolden investors,"
said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.
"But given the complexity of the issues around this, a
two-week ceasefire is unlikely to be sufficient to convince
investors that it's safe to go back in the water."
At 10:06 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
rose 1,308.99 points, or 2.81%, to 47,893.45, the S&P 500
gained 155.91 points, or 2.36%, to 6,772.76 and the Nasdaq
Composite gained 617.51 points, or 2.81%, to 22,635.36.
The small-cap Russell 2000 Index jumped 3% to a more
than one-month high, while the CBOE Volatility Index
slumped 4.74 points to 20.99, after hitting its lowest point
since February 27.
The S&P 500 energy sector was the only one in the
red, down almost 5%. Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) shed 6.3%, Chevron ( CVX )
dropped 5.5%, and Occidental Petroleum ( OXY ) lost
7.7%.
Travel-linked stocks jumped, with Southwest Airlines ( LUV )
and United Airlines advancing 10.8% and 12.8%,
respectively. They boosted industrial stocks on the S&P 500
by 3.8%, the top gainers.
Cruise operators Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line ( NCLH )
added 14.2% and 12%, respectively.
The S&P 500 tech index rose 2.8%, helped by
chip-linked stocks. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index
briefly hit a record high, last up 5.3%.
Dow was lifted by gains in Goldman Sachs ( GS ) and American
Express ( AXP ).
This week, domestic inflation readings will be scrutinized
for signs of whether the elevated crude prices during the war
have added to price pressures. Comments from Federal Reserve
officials and minutes from its March meeting will also be
parsed.
Market bets show a 33.9% chance of a 25-basis-point cut in
December, according to CME's Fedwatch Tool, up from 13.6% a day
ago. Traders expected two cuts before the war broke out.
Among other movers, Levi Strauss gained 12.8% after
the denim apparel maker raised its annual sales and profit
forecasts.
Delta Airlines advanced 8.6%, in line with peers,
despite forecasting lower-than-expected profit for the second
quarter. It also did not update its annual outlook due to
uncertainty over fuel prices linked to the Iran war.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 6.74-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 5.53-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and no new lows,
while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 108 new highs and 17 new
lows.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian, Purvi Agarwal and Avinash P in
Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and
Shinjini Ganguli)