Dow Surges 600 Points on Hormuz Opening Announcement

Wall Street indexes opened sharply higher Friday after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi announced the Strait of Hormuz was open, following a ceasefire agreement reached in Lebanon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 600 points at the open, reflecting immediate investor relief across equity markets. The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most critical oil chokepoint, carrying roughly one-fifth of global petroleum flows, and any closure threat directly reprices energy and risk assets. Araqchi's statement removed a near-term supply disruption premium that had been embedded in crude and equity volatility. The Lebanon ceasefire provides the diplomatic backdrop that made the Hormuz announcement credible to markets. Traders will now watch whether the ceasefire holds, whether Iran formalizes any commitment on naval passage, and how energy futures reprice through the session as the geopolitical risk premium unwinds.