Stocks Soar as Investors Gorge on TACO Tuesday

Key TakeawaysGlobal equities surged: the S&P 500 rose 2.5% to 6,783.48, the Nasdaq 100 jumped 2.9%, the Dow gained 2.8% to 47,910.79 (best day in a year), and the MSCI World Index climbed 3%.The US-Iran two-week ceasefire — agreed just 90 minutes before Trump’s deadline — triggered a classic “TACO Tuesday” relief rally, though Iran accused the US of violations within hours due to ongoing Israeli strikes in Lebanon.Oil had its biggest single-session collapse in five years: WTI fell 15% to $96.06 a barrel and Brent fell 13% to around $95, though analysts warn prices are unlikely to return to sub-$70 pre-war levels quickly.Bond markets staged a partial recovery — 10-year Treasuries held at 4.29% and European yields fell sharply — but pre-war rate-cut bets are unlikely to return as Fed minutes revealed growing support for potential hikes.AI remained a powerful market theme: Goldman Sachs Asset Management identified semiconductors and cybersecurity as key “picks and shovels” plays, while Meta debuted its closed Muse Spark model and Anthropic restricted its Mythos AI due to cyberattack concerns.The ASX 200 futures pointed to a flat-to-lower open, down 22 points (0.2%) to 8,967 near 7am AEDT; no local data Thursday, with the key watch being US Core PCE inflation released at 10:30pm AEST.