S&P 500 Gains 1.1% on Iran-Israel Conflict De-Escalation Hopes; Energy, Defense Stocks Drop

On Wednesday, June 25, 2025, the S&P 500 index continued its upward trend, gaining another 1.2%, as optimism about the potential resolution of the conflict between Israel and Iran persisted. The major U.S. equities indexes also showed significant gains, with the Dow up 1.3% and the Nasdaq jumping 1.5%.

1. Continued Positive News on Iran-Israel Conflict: The continued potential for an alleviation of geopolitical tensions further contributed to a drop in oil prices, pressuring oil and gas stocks, while aerospace and defense stocks also lost ground.
2. Coinbase Continues to Surge: Shares of Coinbase Global (COIN) continued their upward trend, gaining another 8.2% on Wednesday. Benchmark analysts further boosted their price target on the cryptocurrency exchange operator's stock, citing continued favorable legislative and regulatory developments and the company's initiatives to capitalize on them.
3. Healthcare and Tech Stocks Maintain Gains: The massive advertising campaign announced by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to encourage the use of wearable health devices continued to benefit glucose monitor manufacturer Dexcom (DXCM), which surged another 6.1%. Uber Technologies (UBER) shares also jumped 5.7% as it continued to roll out its robotaxi service in partnership with Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company owned by Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL).
4. Cruise Industry Continues to Revive: Carnival Corporation (CCL) posted even better-than-expected sales and profits for its fiscal second quarter, and its shares sailed 7.2% higher. The company also boosted its full-year profit outlook, pointing to further increases in passengers carried and passenger cruise days as well as declining costs. Shares of competitors Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) and Royal Caribbean Group (RCL) also advanced.
5. AutoZone Continues to Slide: AutoZone (AZO) shares dropped another 2.1%, continuing to lose ground as investors remain concerned about the large sale of a stake in the company by a senior vice president at the auto parts retailer worth more than $2.5 million.

Market Analysis:

The continued potential for calming geopolitical tensions helped alleviate concerns about potential supply disruptions in the Middle East, leading to a further drop in crude oil futures prices. This, in turn, further pressured energy stocks, with Occidental Petroleum (OXY) shares falling another 2.8% and Exxon Mobil (XOM) shares down 2.6%. The same sentiment also weighed on defense stocks, with Northrop Grumman (NOC) shares dropping another 3.0%, while shares of aerospace and defense peers RTX Corp. (RTX) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) also traded lower.

In conclusion, the S&P 500's gain of 1.2% on Wednesday was driven by continued optimism surrounding the potential de-escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict and positive news in the healthcare and technology sectors. However, energy and defense stocks remained among the losers due to the drop in oil prices and concerns about geopolitical tensions.

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